Next week is National Screen-Free Week, May 6th-11th, 2024. The School Counselors at Penn Manor High School are encouraging families to look at the resources on screenfree.org and talk about a personal family goal to reduce screen time and social media use for a week. University researchers examined the impact of taking a one-week break from social media. They found that the levels of depression and anxiety dropped significantly when participants took a break from popular platforms like TikTok, Instagram and SnapChat. Adults and Teenagers can make a commitment as a family to reduce or give up social media use for a week and find replacement activities for to do together.

Read more about the research behind Screen-Free week https://screenfree.org/research-says-unplug/

Tips for Adults and Teenagers:

1. Tips for less screentime at school:
   • Take class notes by hand if possible and look for physical copies of required readings
   • If you struggle with scrolling but don’t want to delete the message part of your social media, try only checking social media from your laptop and deleting the apps from your phones
2. Taking care of your mental health:
   • Don’t just remove screens: REPLACE THEM. Pick up a hobby, plan a hike, or read a good book.
   • Before posting online, ask yourself WHY?
   • Adequate rest in an important part of wellness, and screens make it harder to sleep. Try to stop scrolling an hour before bed. Adults and teenagers can hold themselves accountable by plugging in your devices in a public place away from bedrooms and using a different alarm for the mornings. Late night screen usage can keep us feeling alert and suppress the release of the sleepy hormone melatonin. Sufficient sleep is not just important for tackling the next day at school, a lack of sleep in children has been linked to an increased risk of obesity.
3. Taking care of your social health:
   • At meals, keep your phone in your bag… out of sight, out of mind! Spend time with the people around you.
   • If you can, call a friend instead of text them!
   • Remember, conflict is better handled in person than over the phone. Conflict over text is never a good way to come to a solution. Tone is difficult to guess online.
4. Taking care of your physical health:
   • Go outside, starting with 15 minutes a day.
   • Get moving! There are plenty of gentle exercises that help combat ‘text-neck’ or stiff wrists from typing and phone use.
   • Mindful breathing helps combat anxiety.

Resources:

Article: Reflection tools to help manage teens and social media

Article: 8-ways-to-help-teens-unplug-from-technology

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101 Screen Free Family Activities