A note from Ms. Walsh
Happy Friday Mountain View, and Happy May! May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental Health Awareness Month has been an initiative since 1949 but is more important now than ever. Throughout the month of May, many different organizations share different resources, initiatives, and fundraisers to help to end the stigma surrounding mental health. This year, the theme for the National Alliance on Mental Illness is “More Than Enough.” The campaign is a reminder that despite differences, we are all inexplicably valuable to the world around us. Even on the hardest days, we are all doing our best- and that is more than enough.
In thinking about mental health, many of my weekly updates this year have shared information on parenting techniques for technology and social media. Dr. Lisa Damour is back again with another fantastic podcast and a perspective that may be different from other resources out there. In Dr. Lisa Damour’s podcast “Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Parenting” parenting topics, tough conversations, and self-care tips are shared each week. Episode 116: Should I Kick my Kid Off TikTok was a good listen. Dr. Lisa dives into the idea that screen time and social media do often allow for opportunities for social interaction and that it is not ALL bad. What can make an impact on social media is the norms of the different environments online. Dr. Lisa explains that on Tik Tok and other similar platforms, each user develops their own algorithm based on their searches, interactions, and following list. These platforms also play a game of “Where can we get you to go next?” They want to see how far they can get you to go, and what other environments they can expose you to. When, for example, a 7th grader is consistently exposed to dancing and funny videos the norm of their environment is not necessarily harmful. Dr. Lisa goes on to explain that this can differ from user to user- and some 7th graders or even younger students are being exposed to things like dieting weight loss and body image-related videos. The norms of this environment can be considered harmful to the mental health and body image of viewers and cause these viewers of this content to search further about these topics with harmful norms. This also applies to video games and shows/podcasts/movies. If a child is socializing on a sports-themed video game the norms in the environment may be competitive but are not considered harmful. In a first-person shooter game or similarly violent video games, the norms of the environment are aggressive and violent. The more time spent in the normed environments the more impact it has on the whole child. So what can we do? This information offers the opportunity to have an open discussion with your child about the specific content that they are exposed to, and the norms of their online environment. Encourage your child to let you know if they are being exposed to unhealthy environments, and define what some of those environments may look like. This is also an opportunity to watch your child scroll on their online platforms and view for yourself what they are being exposed to.
Check out this episode and more using the link below. Have a great weekend!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4RunUY3R59MHXTtm0Z2jqi?si=bd7f512c4db3414a
Contact us
Email: toth@mendhamboroschools.org
Website: https://www.mendhamboro.org/o/mountain-view-middle-school
Location: 100 Dean Road, Mendham Borough, NJ, USA
Phone: 973-543-7075
Twitter: @mendhamborosd