Teens live with their phones in their pockets, and this has created tons of entertainment for you—but it has also created stress. Teens deal with cyber-bullying, digital self-harm, fake accounts, and many other problems that can contribute to anxiety and depression.
Most research on digital stress focuses on coping with social stress and cyber-bullying. But other online problems also exist, including digital impersonation, smothering, and hacking.
A super interesting article in the Journal of Adolescent Research looked at hundreds of teens’ posts online. They found out five ways that teens cope with “digital stress” and reduce their anxiety when they scroll through their feeds. Here’s a rundown of these strategies:
1. Get help from others—This was the most common way teens approach problems with cyberbullying.
- Encourage your children to talk with you or another trusted adult: offering teens support can help “erase the things the bully said.” When they start to surround themselves with people who care about them, they may realize how many strengths they actually have. A teacher, principal, or school counselor could help mediate the situation.
2. Communicate directly
- It may help for your teen to confront the person causing the stress. Talking with people directly is a challenging prospect for anyone, especially teens, and it takes practice. Here are some tips to help your adolescent build skills in healthy confrontation. Help them remember that it is not their fault to be a target of unhealthy communication.
3. Cut ties—Here are the most common ways teens approach digital problems that arise in close relationships:
- Stop responding.
- Delete negative comments.
- Make new friends.
- Go offline.
- Remember the digital world is only one part of your life, and you have the right to take time out if online interactions are upsetting you
4. Ignore the situation
- Teens turn their attention away from the interaction and stop caring what other people think of you.
- They focus on positive posts.
- They interact only with those who would lift them up and encourage them.
5. Use online recourse—Your teen could:
- Report the person causing the stress.
- Block the person.
- Stay off the platform.
To read more in depth about these strategies, check out the original article here.
These are just strategies from teens in a study—we bet that you have ideas about other ways adolescents can cope with digital stress. When your child feels anxiety caused by social media, what are some ways you help them handle this stress? Please share your strategies below!