Online issues and worries: digital well-being and mental health

How can going online impact my mental health?

The internet can be a great space to do fun things, like gaming, chatting with others, sharing knowledge and information, and being entertained. However, we may also see or experience things that are upsetting or worry us.

All of this can impact on our digital well-being.

Some of the things that may impact on your digital well-being include:

• online bullying
• inappropriate or offensive content
• upsetting news stories
• online hate
• content on social media, including content that impacts on your body image or self-esteem

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Can going online be good for my mental health?

Yes, being online can be a fantastic, positive experience with wide-ranging mental health benefits. For example, you can find like-minded communities of people who share the same interests as you, and you can stay in touch with friends and family all over the world.

You can learn new skills online, entertain yourself with music, films and TV, and game with others. However, with all of these things, it’s important to be mindful of the time that you spend online and make sure that you have a healthy balance of offline activities too.

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How can I make my online experience more positive?

• Take time to reflect on what your online activities are and how they make you feel. Try to identify, and spend more time doing, the things that make you feel happy and good.
• If there are activities that negatively impact on your well-being but are still necessary to do, have a set time to do them. For example, checking the news for half an hour each day. You could explore the tools available on your devices that can help with this, for example setting time limits for certain apps.
• Mute, unfollow, or block any accounts that negatively affect how you feel. This will give you greater control in terms of what you see and when. You can always choose to re-follow or view those accounts on your own terms, rather than seeing them automatically in your feeds.
• Report anything that you feel is inappropriate or might break a website or app’s user terms and conditions. These reports will be investigated by the service and the content will be removed if necessary. This can stop other people from having to see that content too.
• Seek out new content that makes you feel good. Try asking your friends who they follow online and why, and which apps, sites, or games they enjoy the most to get some tips and recommendations.
• Be open and talk with friends and family about your online experiences. You might find that your friends feel a similar way to you, and so you can support each other to get the best out of your time spent online.
• There are a number of different adults that you could talk to, for example a parent or carer, a friend’s parents, a member of school staff or any adult whom you feel comfortable and safe confiding in.

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Are there tools I can use to improve my digital well-being?

There are many useful tools out there that can help you to improve your digital well-being, including the following.

Notification settings

Turn off or mute apps that you find overwhelming, or limit their notifications so that they don’t appear at certain times of the day. Remember that most notifications alert you to content and messages that you’ll be able to find in the app at any time, not just the moment you receive the notification.

Screentime settings

Explore the settings on your devices to limit time on specific apps that impact on your mood, or set ‘downtime’ on your devices so you can take a break from technology when you need to.

Blocking and muting tools

Lots of social media apps provide tools that allow you to block or mute other users, for example if somebody is regularly posting content that negatively affects your digital well-being. You may also be able to mute particular words or hashtags so that content you don’t want to see is less likely to appear in your feed or as you’re browsing.

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What is self-care?

Self-care is a simple way to think about, and look after, your own well-being. For example, identify if there are any online activities that make you feel stressed, angry or have any other impacts on your well-being, and spend more time focusing on the online activities that make you feel good.

Ensuring that you enjoy a wide range of offline activities, to complement your screentime, is also important. Taking time to do things that help you recharge and reset, that don’t involve technology, is an essential part of self-care. Consider your physical health and well-being too; are you eating properly, sleeping well, and exercising? Self-care works best when you nurture the physical and emotional aspects of your life.  

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Who can I talk to about my mental health?

There are many places you can go to for support with your mental and emotional health.

Seeking advice from a trusted adult, for example someone at home, a teacher or anyone whom you feel comfortable and safe talking to, is the best way to get help and support through mental health struggles, both online and offline.