Social media education – a united effort
Mrs Janet Stewart | stewartj@mbc.qld.edu.au
Over the term break, when there have been extra lockdown hours at home, I am aware that some of our families have discussed what is a healthy amount of screen time and reflected on social media and mobile phone use.
For years, educators and commentators have been highlighting concerns about too much ‘screen time’, and the importance of limiting children’s access to devices or specific games and apps. Recently Professor Jean Twenge, a recognised international expert in this field, has led a study examining different types of screen activity, as well as taking gender and device use into account. For this investigation, Jean Twenge and Eric Farley of the Department of Psychology at San Diego State University used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a survey of over 11,000 British adolescents aged 13-15. The survey asked teens how many hours per day they spent on specific screen activities (social media, the internet, gaming, and television) and a series of questions assessing four mental health indicators (self-harm, depression, life satisfaction, and self-esteem). Sadly, the findings reveal that adolescent girls using the internet and social media are most at risk of compromised mental health. Of particular concern, girls who are heavy users of the internet or social media (five or more hours per day) are significantly more likely than other adolescents to report clinically relevant symptoms of depression.
We know that girls are often more focused than boys on social relationships and popularity. Their friendships are close, sometimes fragile, and their attitude to life and school can be powerfully influenced by what is happening in those friendship groups. We also know that girls spend more time on social media, sometimes creating and crafting an online image and sometimes making comparisons with friends. It is no surprise that some studies have linked social media use to body image concerns.
Given that adolescent girls are such prolific users of social media, and it can have an impact on their wellbeing, it is deeply concerning that social media is so often used as a vehicle to be mean, to hurt, to humiliate and to bully. Last Saturday in The Weekend Australian Review I read about the alarming case of Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who has suffered horrendous abuse online. She has attempted to call out social media and two of her former students who have been ‘insulting’ and attacking her endlessly online. She said it is sad that so many on social media platforms talk of kindness, but then online seek to destroy people. The online attacks she has endured are the result of her expressing a different opinion to that of her ‘attackers’. Whether we agree with someone’s opinion or not, surely, we do not have the right to cruelly abuse another on these public forums; it is always much better to rebut with strong, convincing evidence-based arguments. Yet the vitriol witnessed on social media is all too real; witnessed this week in the vicious racial attacks on England’s football players.
Sadly, we do see some of this disgraceful online behaviour here at MBC. The Mission Australia 2020 Youth Survey found that 9.6% of students at girls’ schools were concerned about bullying/cyberbullying, compared with 15.1% of females at all schools. Interestingly, these findings also indicate that students from girls’ schools are less likely to experience the negative wellbeing and mental health outcomes that can result from bullying and victimisation. At MBC, our Anti Bullying Strategy states clearly that we have a zero tolerance to bullying and we mean it. We investigate vigorously all matters brought to our attention by girls, staff, and parents. When we are made aware of inappropriate and unacceptable language, personal attacks, abuse and exclusion we always act on this. However, tackling such disgraceful online behaviours demands that staff, students, and parents work together.
Recently, I met with a parent who shared a belief that there was a lot of (online) bullying happening at MBC and asked, what were we going to do about it? I assured her we wanted to respond and act to support her daughter. Yet this parent would not give me names, nor provide me with evidence and so we were at an impasse. I was keen to investigate and reach out to protect a girl suffering online at the hands of her peers but could not.
May I reassure parents that as a values-driven community, there is a constant narrative in classes, in assemblies, in Chapels – indeed in all our interactions - which affirms respect, kindness and care as cornerstones of all our relationships. Bullying is defined for, and discussed with, girls and they are encouraged to seek help if they are experiencing mean behaviours, and/ or bullying, be it in person or online. There is consistent messaging which encourages girls to talk to a teacher, a Head of House, a Senior member of staff and thankfully, many girls experiencing such hurtful behaviour do just that. But I acknowledge that some do not – they stay silent. So, it is imperative we assure girls that seeking help is a courageous act, that their concerns will be treated confidentially and that there will be compassion and support for them.
A number of girls also report their concerns through Big Sister – our MBC online reporting tool - other girls tell their friends and/or parents and collectively we must applaud and affirm this help-seeking behaviour. Staff work very hard to establish an environment in which girls feels safe and connected, and so help-seeking behaviour is accepted as the norm. If school and home unite and send a clear message that cruel, nasty or hurtful actions or words are never acceptable, we take power from those who seek to hurt or harm – especially those who hide behind the anonymity of social media. May I please implore parents to share concerns with us – if your daughter speaks to you about face to face or online interactions which worry her or, if while checking her phone you become aware of worrying content, please contact a teacher or member of our pastoral staff. In this way, the College can support the student and investigate the behaviours which are causing her upset; hopefully bringing the concerns to a positive resolution.
Thankfully, some of the major social media companies are listening to girls who are keen to voice their concerns about what they are experiencing online. Facebook, which also owns the Instagram and WhatsApp platforms, recently completed a series of Listening Sessions with girls and young women from around the world, following the launch of girls’ rights NGO, Plan International’s #FreeToBeOnline campaign. The latter campaign spoke to 14,000 girls across 32 countries about their experiences online. Shockingly, girls shared how they were targeted with abusive and insulting language, reported by more than half (59%) of girls, followed by deliberate embarrassment (41%), body shaming and threats of sexual violence (both 39%). Similarly, during the Facebook Listening Sessions, the young activists shared their experience with Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, and crowd-sourced the views of hundreds of girls in their networks with the aim to tackle the online abuse experienced by so many. Together they also discussed ideas, solutions, and priorities. It is a united effort.
The College also works to keep parents informed of concerns about social media behaviour – as was evident in the communication sent out over the term break about a new app, Kiss Kiss. We are also fortunate to have engaged the expertise of Susan McLean, Australia’s foremost expert in the area of cyber safety and young people, this term. A member of Victoria Police for 27 years, she was the first Officer appointed to a position involving cyber safety and young people in that state. Ms McLean will be working with our upper primary and secondary students on Monday 9 August and in the evening will present to parents at 6.00pm in the Music Centre. Her advice is unequivocal:
- If your daughter is under 13, you should be in complete control over everything your child does online.
- Over 13, there should be rules which parents insist on, and make clear these expectations with your child:
- Constant monitoring of phones and online history
- Check all accounts and devices a certain number of random days per month.
- Check their lists of friends and contacts, and ask them to explain who they are
- Call out poor language / comments they make about others
- Make sure devices with cameras and internet connections are never in bedrooms and bathrooms
Please save this important date, join us and add your voice to this significant discussion.
It is increasingly clear that social media plays an important part in girls’ lives, and it must be our mutual goal to make online platforms and social media safer. The Jean Twenge and Eric Farley study found that a quarter of girls spend five or more hours a day on social media and given that previous studies have also found a link between frequent social media use and lower wellbeing, it behoves us all - parents, educators, good citizens - to ensure we do all we can to keep our children safe from online platforms which are used often to abuse and hurt.
Working together, we must be the gatekeepers for young people’s behaviour online and educate them about how to use social media positively, protecting themselves against its worst excesses.
Have a wonderful start to the new term, as Plato said, The beginning is the most important part of the work.
References
Alliance of Girls’ schools Australasia, Not all screen time is equal: The internet, social media & girls’ mental health, Issue 4/2021: March 10, 2021
https://www.plan.org.au/publications/free-to-be-online/
https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/what-we-do/research-impact-policy-advocacy/youth-survey
