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I think we all know how what happens online can affect the way we feel in real life. Counting up all those likes, shares, friends, and followers, that鈥檚 called external validation. And it鈥檚 easy to start judging yourself by these things. It鈥檚 also tempting, scrolling through pictures of perfect meals and sunny holidays, to start feeling like everyone else鈥檚 life is better than yours.
But while social media is real in a lot of ways, it helps to remember that it鈥檚 also pretty fake. Like that great selfie I posted. I spent ages doing my hair, choosing an outfit, finding the right location and even longer editing the photo. Not quite the casual snap I made it out to be. And that鈥檚 common. The digital world is often just a highly polished slice of the full story. Getting lost in that can harm our self-confidence and mental wellbeing.
Emma experienced this first hand, and has agreed to share her story with us. It鈥檚 been voiced by an actor, but the story is true.
EMMA: When I turned 16 I became really aware of how my body was changing. I was scrolling through social media, seeing photo after photo of skinny 鈥檌nfluencers鈥 in bikinis, without thinking that these photos could be edited.
I started restricting my food intake and trying out diet products because I was comparing myself to people I'd never met and putting myself under pressure to conform to completely unrealistic body ideals.
I was feeding the monster inside my head with more and more self-doubt.
I started drinking detox teas after I saw them advertised by a celebrity on social media. They promised weight loss and great hair, nails and skin.
There was one daytime tea and one tea to drink every other night. The first time I drank both, I had severe stomach cramps and awful diarrhoea throughout the night. I woke up for school drained, exhausted and dehydrated.
Over the next 6 weeks I used the tea at the advised dose. It flushed everything out of my body, including all the nutrients my body needed.
The moment I woke up in A&E, I realised that I needed to make a change. I was diagnosed with anorexia and bulimia.
It took a long time for me to recover from my eating disorders. My illness resulted in never finishing school, having to leave a few jobs and it took a toll on my family, friends and relationships.
I limit my time online now. And I always remind myself that people can create a completely false representation of life on social media.
But there can be positives too. While I was focusing on my recovery, I discovered communities online that supported recovery and body confidence. And I benefited from some food accounts, which helped me to reconnect with food in a positive way.
FRANKIE: Emma鈥檚 story is extreme. However, many of us will experience self-doubt or feelings of missing out like she did. But you can make your digital life a more positive experience. Who you follow, what posts you like and comment on; algorithms, or computer programs, use this information to tell the app what to show you next. That means you can control what you see, by what you do.
So unfollow anyone whose posts make you feel bad about yourself. Take breaks. And unplug before you go to bed. You鈥檒l sleep better. And that will always make you feel better.
Video summary
Using a real life story, this short film looks at the negative effects that social media can have on our mental wellbeing.
It explains what is attractive about social media and the way that it can seem to work to provide external validation for an individual鈥檚 choices and actions.
The film presents a true story that talks through some of the extreme consequences of using social media, as well as the positive uses of online activity.
It emphasises the highly curated nature of social media and online representations and reinforces the ways that young people can control how they interact with the online world.
The top tips section at the end should provide useful take-away points for students.
Due to the sensitive nature of the subject matter, we strongly advise teacher viewing before watching with your pupils.
Teacher Notes
This short film could be used to highlight the unreality of social media and the idea of curating an image.
Prior to watching the film students could do a think-pair-share on how/why films are different to reality.
This involves individuals thinking about their own view for 30-60 seconds and then sharing their ideas with their partner.
You could then ask different students to share what their partner said with the rest of the class.
The first 55 seconds of the film could then be shown, with students identifying how people can make their online presence appear a particular way.
Students could focus on Emma鈥檚 story and the way that a person鈥檚 mental health can be impacted by external events.
Students can start by identifying positive and negative aspects of social media. They can then identify different positive and negative feelings that social media can elicit.
After watching the film, they can add to these lists. Students could make suggestions for other students about how to switch off from social media.
Remember to have an anonymous question box available so that students can ask questions that they think of during lessons that focus on difficult and sensitive issues.
Links to new statutory RSE and HE curriculum (secondary)
Pupils should be aware of the impact of time spent online and the positive aspects of online support and negotiating social media.
Pupils should be taught how to judge when they, or someone they know, needs support and where they can seek help if they have concerns.
Mental wellbeing: how to critically evaluate when something they do or are involved in has a positive or negative effect on their own or others鈥 mental health.
Internet safety and harms: the impact of unhealthy or obsessive comparison with others online (including through setting unrealistic expectations for body image), how people may curate a specific image of their life online, how to be a discerning consumer of information online.
Health and prevention: the importance of sufficient good quality sleep for good health.
Other subject areas
This short film could be used across other subject areas such as health and social care, computing, English, science or business studies.
In science the film could be used as a stimulus to talk about dopamine loops or how the chemicals in the brain respond to positive validation.
In health and social care Emma鈥檚 story could be used as a case-study for students to assess the best ways of dealing with the mental health problems that she is presenting with.
The film could also be a good starting point in business studies in considering how advertising is used to make us feel certain ways and how this translates into social media.
This series touches on elements of PSHE, citizenship and computing at GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 4 and 5 in Scotland.
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