Mindfulness With Social Media – Escalon Times
Mindfulness with social media
Dear Editor,
Over the years, the use of social media has grown tremendously. No matter your age, where you live, or even your social status, everyone around you uses some form of social media. Social media is used to communicate with others regardless of distance, it can be used to create or grow businesses, and even to educate yourself. Now, although there are advantages to using social media, there are also disadvantages, which can even be considered to outweigh the positive. Nowadays, on any platform, you can easily voice your opinion, which can lead to cyberbullying, depression, anxiety, fear of missing out (Fomo), etc.
Just sharing the trip you took on the break or what you comment on someone’s post will greatly affect a human. Many people don’t realize the power of words and how they actually affect a person’s daily life. A study has shown that those who spend more time on social media are more likely to have mental health issues. And about 64% of those who spend time on social media for more than four hours suffer from depression. The impact of social media is increasing every day without even realizing it, but with awareness we can be more aware of our screen time and social media usage and how it can affect others around us. The things we can do on the whole are to completely turn off our phones, delete apps that we deem unnecessary, or turn off our notifications. All of these options are things we can do with just one click.
Monique Bracamontes
Advocate for a shorter school day
Dear Editor,
I feel like school time is a big problem. I personally believe that a student should only have three hours of school a day for half the school year. Shortening the school day could give children and teens more time for movement, brain breaks, and other activities that have been shown to improve learning outcomes, among other benefits. With more opportunities to move around and less worry about following classroom rules, kids might be better prepared to focus when it counts.
Longer school days could also lead to attention deficit and fatigue, making extra class time ineffective. When students are too tired or mentally exhausted to concentrate, the last hour of the day becomes unnecessary. The school can also save money because the school week is shorter. Don’t even get me started on the trips you can take if school were shorter in general.
Sincerely,
Talan Reider