social media kindness day
The rise of social media has been fast. It’s an ingrained part of daily life, and the young people we work with have never known a time without it. On #SocialMediaKindnessDay we take a look at what that means for the Trust and the young people we work with and for.
In the UK, there are 53 million active users of social media, which equates to nearly 80% of the population. The average user spends around 110 minutes per day on social media and 98% of users use social media on their mobile devices. 87% of children aged 12-15 already have a social media profile in the UK. It has the ability to bring people together and offers a space to connect with likeminded people who share your interests or are facing similar challenges. It can also have drawbacks, however, and can be an additional pressure in the lives of young people. October’s State of the Youth Nation report, from Savanta, highlights that increasing numbers of young people feel social media is a stressful part of their life, with half of respondents stating that problems such as low self-esteem and poor body image are being made worse by social media.
Social Media Kindness Day was created to encourage people to be kind to each other on social media. To consider whether remarks made on social would be OK in real life, and to think about how others might feel. It’s a sentiment we completely agree with and is the advice our athlete mentors give to young people on programmes.
In a recent video podcast created in association with our partners Westfield Health to be shared with schools across Sheffield, Badminton Commonwealth medalist and athlete mentor Jenny Wallwork discussed her relationship with social media and offers advice for young people:
““Social media has the ability to have a negative impact on our lives, but it also has the ability to have a massively positive impact… so I decided to remove some accounts were having a negative impact and only follow the people I love and make me feel happy and feel good about myself.” ”
You can hear more from Jenny in the clip above talking about the impact of social media and on the 9th November we’re asking everyone to remember that in a world where you can be anything, be kind.
This ‘bite size briefing’ has allowed us to reach thousands more students in the area as part of the partnership, designed to raise the wellbeing of young people in Sheffield.