A teacher's guide to the impact of the internet on mental health
What is mental health and well-being?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as:
… a state of well-being in which every individual achieves their potential, copes with the normal stresses of life, works productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community.
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act. Often when we talk about mental health, we think about mental illness. However, just like physical health, mental health exists on a spectrum.
It is becoming more commonplace to talk about mental well-being in preference to mental health, as well-being is more than just a ‘health’ issue. There’s no agreed definition of mental well-being, but the one produced by the Faculty of Public Health is acknowledged as a good suggestion. More broadly the WHO defines well-being as:
A positive physical, social and mental state; it is not just the absence of pain, discomfort and incapacity. It requires that basic needs are met, that individuals have a sense of purpose, that they feel able to achieve important personal goals and participate in society. It is enhanced by conditions that include supportive personal relationships, strong and inclusive communities, good health, financial and personal security, rewarding employment and a healthy and attractive environment.
What does good mental health and well-being mean for children and young people?
Good mental well-being helps children and young people to:
- learn and explore the world
- feel, express and manage a range of positive and negative emotions
- form and maintain good relationships with others
- cope with, and manage, change and uncertainty
- reach their potential
- develop and grow into well-rounded, healthy adults.
Encouraging positive mental well-being early in life can help children and young people build their self-esteem, learn to manage their feelings and engage positively with their education. This, in turn, can lead to improved academic attainment, enhanced future employment opportunities and positive life choices.
Mental health and well-being and the internet
The internet has become part of our daily lives. However, technology develops fast. This has fuelled concerns from parents and carers, teachers, governments and young people themselves about the impact the internet has on health and well-being.
The internet by itself is not the main cause of poor mental health. However the way children and young people might use it can negatively impact them. This might depend on the child and factors such as age and development.
The positive effects
Play, learning and having fun
Through play, children and young people learn about themselves, their environment, people and the world around them. Playing games online can boost learning, health (if the games are interactive) and social skills. Those who play games have reported higher levels of emotional well-being than those who spend no time doing this at all.
Self-expression and identity
Self-expression is an important part of identity. Online, children and young people can try new things and experiment with different aspects of their identity and personality.
For younger children, creating profiles and avatars means they can try out different characters. This helps them to learn about themselves, what they like and don’t like, and how they interact with their friends. For young people, the internet can be an effective platform for positive self-expression. It lets young people put forward their ‘best self’ to express who they are and how they identify with the world around them.
Social relationships
Friendships are important when it comes to looking after mental well-being. People who feel more connected to others have lower levels of anxiety and depression.
Being online gives children and young people opportunities to develop and maintain positive relationships. They use technology to enhance their existing relationships and stay in touch with friends and family. In fact, research suggests that time spent online socialising with people they already know strengthens their relationships.
Technology also helps those who find face-to-face communication difficult. For example, children and young people who live in remote places can use the internet to stay connected with their friends when it’s harder to go out and play with them.
Help and advice
The internet can be a valuable source of information and support for children and young people. There are experts online who can help them when they are worried. Social media also gives children and young people an opportunity to read, listen to and understand the health experiences of others. These online interactions can help children and young people to overcome difficult health issues, particularly if they can’t access that support face-to-face.
The negative effects
Physical health
Keeping active, as well as eating and sleeping well, are important for physical health. Poor physical health can lead to an increased risk of developing mental health problems. Research has found that excessive screen time can have some negative impact on physical health. This includes physical problems such as strained eyes, back pain or hand aches from excessive use of devices. Research also suggests using screens can increase eating, as well as reducing the time spent on physical activity, which will have an impact on overall health and well-being. Sleep disruption is identified as an impact of using screens at night, because the bright screen light from devices can cause increased alertness and activities can be stimulating and make children less ready to sleep.
What can you do?
Help learners and their parents and carers understand the risks, and give them some practical tips to help balance time spent online. The Chief Medical Officer’s guidance recommends a healthy balance when it comes to physical well-being and screen time. This includes taking more frequent breaks, ensuring a balance of online and offline activity, and good quality, regular sleep. They also suggest that devices should be left outside the bedroom at bedtime.
Visit Screen time: balances, play and limits and Online gaming and screen time playlists on Keeping safe online on Hwb for more ideas.
Lack of confidence and body issues
Body image is an issue for many children and young people, both male and female. Children and young people like to fit in and seek acceptance from their friends and peers. The pictures they see online do not always reflect the way people really look. This can make them feel anxious and negatively impact their self-esteem.
Children and young people who don’t feel confident may feel the need to change the way they look. They might add filters and edit their pictures to look ‘perfect’. But they may also engage in unhealthy behaviours including damaging diets and exercise regimes.
What can you do?
Schools are a great place to model healthy acceptance of oneself and appreciation of diversity. Explicit teaching on this subject helps learners build their self-confidence and gives them new tools to respond to adversity. For example, improved media literacy enables children and young people to critically analyse messages promoted in the media. If children and young people develop the critical reasoning skills and resilience they need at a young age, body image anxieties are less likely to occur as they get older.
Visit The insta-effect playlist on Keeping safe online on Hwb for more ideas.
Anxiety and depression
Some research has found that children and young people who are heavy users of social media are more likely to report poor mental health, including symptoms of anxiety and depression. Heavy users spent more than two hours per day on social media. Anxiety and depression are often linked to their feelings of missing out while others enjoy life or adverse experiences online, like bullying, coercion or grooming. For example, bullying often targets an aspect of someone’s life like their appearance, sexuality or a disability. This can affect how children and young people feel about themselves.
Children and young people are more likely to experience a negative impact when they:
- spend considerable time online
- already have existing feelings of anxiety or depression
- are just ‘surfing’ the internet rather than socialising with others online
- have few or poor relationships offline.
What can you do?
Talk about and support learners through these challenges and make sure they know you are there to help. They need advice on how to identify the things that may negatively impact their well-being. This helps them to make more informed and reasoned choices, both for themselves and on behalf of others. Provide opportunities to talk about the importance of positive, healthy relationships. Make sure that relationship education includes the role that the online world has in our developing identities and relationships.
Visit Mental health and the internet, Online friendships and Positive choices for a healthy you on Keeping safe online on Hwb for more ideas.
Harmful content
When children and young people look for help online, they won’t always find websites or people that are trustworthy.
Accessing unwanted or unsuitable content can be upsetting and negatively impact mental health. This is especially true for younger children who have not developed the emotional skills to cope with difficult or stressful situations. Some websites might also imply that unhealthy behaviours, such as eating disorders or self-harm, can be normal lifestyle choices.
What can you do?
As well as making sure there is appropriate filtering in place for your school or college, you should help your learners develop their critical thinking skills. Talk about how not everything they read or see is true, and how others may seek to persuade them online. Make sure they know what to do if they have any concerns about something, they experience online.
For example, Report Harmful Content is a website that’s been created to assist everyone in reporting harmful content online.
Visit Trust me Cymru on Keeping safe online on Hwb for more ideas.
Helping children and young people to stay mentally healthy
Healthy habits start early – mostly at home. Things you can do to support and reinforce healthy behaviours include the following.
- Setting a good example. Children tend to model their behaviours on those around them, so set a good example. This includes making sure you include both online and offline activities in the classroom.
- Talking about how they manage the time they spend online. Children and young people need advice and support to identify the things that may negatively impact their well-being. This helps them to make more informed and reasoned choices, for themselves and on behalf of others. It also helps them recognise when they need help, and to develop the skills to manage and regulate their time, emotions and relationships while online.
- Communicating with parents and carers. Parents and carers look to professionals to help and guide them. For example, you can provide parents and carers with information or consider running a workshop using resources on Hwb.
- Acceptable use of technology. As a school or college you’ll need to think about how children and young people use both your technology and personal devices. A simple ban of mobile devices is not practical. However, unlimited access is not healthy. Whatever the school or college’s policy, this should be clearly outlined and consistently applied across all learning, leisure and circulation spaces.
Make sure they know you’re there to help
If you’re worried about the impact the internet is having on a child or young person, think about whether they are:
- eating and sleeping enough
- physically healthy
- connecting socially with friends and family – through technology or otherwise
- engaged at school
- enjoying and pursuing hobbies and interests – through technology or beyond.
If the answer is ‘Yes’, then there’s probably not a problem. If it’s a ‘No’, it is important to act.
Many of the signs which could be attributed to excess screen time or unhealthy online use may also be caused by something else. You should therefore report and record any concerns about a child’s well-being regardless of cause according to your school or college’s safeguarding procedure. Unhealthy internet use can often be remedied through work with the child and their family. However, your concerns may form part of a wider safeguarding picture.
If you’re unsure what to do, you can also contact Professionals Online Safety Helpline, run by Safer Internet UK. They can advise on online safety issues.