Social media and teens’ anxiety

From cyber-bullying to cruel comments, social media can be a land mine for kids. Issues parents never worried about are now a risk for many teens. With kids’ digital well-being a concern, researchers are exploring potential links between social media and the rise in teen suicide rates, tech addiction, and loss of real-life social skills. Many parents are wondering: Is social media causing my kid to have anxiety?

It’s a question that worried parents. Some research has observed a relationship between social media use and anxiety in kids, but it’s difficult to know if and when social media causes anxiety or whether kids who are anxious turn to social media as a way to seek support. How kids use social media matters, too. Social comparison and feedback-seeking behaviors have been associated with depressive symptoms, which often co-occur with anxiety.

How can parents keep social media a positive for kids?

1. Seeing photos of a trip to the beach your friends didn’t invite you to can really be upsetting. If your kid is tired of digital drama, suggest they take a break from social media for a while. In fact, if they post a status update that they’re taking a break, their friends might be very accepting because they’ve had similar feelings.

2. People post stuff that makes their lives look perfect — not the homework struggles, or the fight they had with their dad. Remind kids that social media leaves the messy stuff out — and that everyone has ups and downs.

3. In a world where kids could spend their days lying around looking at Wechat, it’s doubly important for them to feel as though they’re cultivating their inner lives. Prompt them to balance social media with soul-nourishing activities such as hobbies, exercise, reading, and helping others. Otherwise, what are they going to show off about on social media?

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Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Happy Birthday! Do birthdays really make people happy? Of course they do. Birthdays celebrate the day we were born. Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggests another year of growth and maturity(成熟)—or so we hope. Most of us enjoy seeing the miracle of growth in others. For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud. For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process. But growing old? That’s a different story.

Growing old is not exactly pleasant for people in youth-oriented American culture. Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young. As the old saying goes, “You’re as young as you feel.” Older people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old. People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom. But Americans seem to favour those that are young, or at least “young at heart”.

Many older Americans find the “golden years” to be anything but golden. Economically, “senior citizens” often struggle just to get by. Retirement at age 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income. Social security benefits usually cannot make up the difference. Older people may suffer from poor nutrition, medical care and housing. Some even experience age discrimination.

Unfortunately, the elderly population in America is increasing fast. Why? People are living longer. Fewer babies are being born. And “baby boomers” are rapidly entering the groups of the elderly. America may soon be a place where wrinkles are “in”. Marketing experts are already noticing this group of consumers.