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Schools

Screen Time and Social Media

Social media plays a major role in the lives of today’s youth. The 2021 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) report stated that 91% of grade 7-12 students use social media. Of these students 31% of them are spending 5 hours or more on social media daily. We know that children younger than 13 are also using social media.

Social media can be useful in a lot of situations such as sharing information, marketing ideas and products, and interacting with friend and family all over the world. Social Media can also come with some risks. 

With the rapid explosion of electronic tools to broadcast information, market ideas and products, track, interact and partner with strangers, encourage mass sharing of personal information and pictures, and allow anonymous, yet intimate involvement in the lives of others, requires youth to develop skills and tools that have evolved to include both media and digital literacy. 

Students using high amounts of social media also report significantly higher rates of fair/poor mental health, psychological distress, suicidal ideation, and being cyber-bullied. Roughly one-third of students report being cyberbullied at least once in the past year (OSDHUS 2021).

To promote a healthy school environment, including healthy use of screen time and social media, consider the following activities as part of your health and well-being action plan:

Create a Cellphone/Social Media Use Policy

  • Adopt a board wide/school wide ‘acceptable use’ cellphone policy.
  • Have students involved in policy adoption/development around the use of cellphone and social media in the classroom

Raise Awareness

  • To support staff who are teaching the topics of screen time, social media, digital literacy; consider workshops, conferences or inviting field experts to speak at professional development days.
  • Raise awareness among students, parents/caregivers and families about the importance of following appropriate school policies around cell phone use.
  • Consider sending home a newsletter with key messages by expanding in-class learning on the topics of screen time, social media, digital literacy.

Enlist the Support of Community Partners:

  • Enlist the support of your Public Health Nurse and other community partners (such as police, community mental health agencies, etc.) in planning and implementing Healthy Schools initiatives.

Educator and Classroom Resources

The links below offer detailed information, lesson plans and classroom resources to support media and digital literacy to develop critical thinking skills and informed, engaged, resilient youth.

  • Ophea H&PE Curriculum Lesson Plans – Grades 1 - 8. Includes lesson plans, supplements and activities designed to reflect the requirements of the Ontario Health and Physical Education curriculum.
  • MediaSmarts – Kindergarten to Grade 8. This website offers a variety of free teacher resources, including backgrounders, lesson plans, tip sheets, games and other classroom tools. Topics include authenticating information, blogging, body image, cell phones and texting, cyber bullying, cyber security, alcohol in the media, and more. Curricular outcome charts have been included to support educators in linking these resources to Ontario curriculum expectations. MediaSmarts also includes information for parents/families.
  • Common Sense Media for Educators – Kindergarten to Grade 8. All students need digital citizenship skills to participate fully in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. Commonsense Media has ready to teach lesson plans to help increase students’ media literacy.
  • Ophea: H&PE Secondary Resources – Grades 9 - 12. Available to support secondary educators with implementation of the Health and Physical Education curriculum.
  • MediaSmarts – Grades 9 - 12. This website offers a variety of free teacher resources, including backgrounders, lesson plans, tip sheets, games and other classroom tools. Topics include: Cyberbullying and the law, excessive internet use, internet and mobile, gender representation, digital health and more. Curricular outcome charts have been included to support educators in linking these resources to Ontario curriculum expectations. MediaSmarts is also a great resource for parents.
  • Common Sense Media for Educators – Grades 9 - 12 All students need digital citizenship skills to participate fully in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. Commonsense Media has ready to teach lesson plans to help increase students’ media literacy.

For Students, Parents and Families

There are many ways to engage students in promoting healthy use of screen time and social media. For example:

  • Have students research, develop and share key messages about screen time and social media at school wellness events.
  • Engage students for feedback to inform policy adoption/development around the use of cellphone and social media in the classroom.

Key resources for sharing with students include:

  • School Mental Health Ontario: Managing social media fatigue (English / French).
  • PREVNet: What teens can do to stay safe online for more information. Learn more about legal Consequences of cyberbullying (English / French).
  • Kids Help Phone: Feeling good on social media (English / French).
  • NeedHelpNow.ca is a Canadian site that provides you with guidance on steps you can take to get through if you (or a friend, peer or sibling) have been involved in a self/peer exploitation incident (otherwise known as “sexting”). www.needhelpnow.ca is an initiative of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc., a charitable organization dedicated to the personal safety of all children.

There are many ways to engage parents/families in promoting healthy use of screen time and social media. Consider involving Parent Involvement Committees and School/Parent Councils to address the issue of social media use/cell phone use in schools.

Key resources for sharing with parents/families include:

  • School Mental Health Ontario: Helping your child manage digital technology (English / French).
  • PREVNet: What parents can do: Keeping teens safe online (English / French).
  • Caring for Kids: Screen time and digital media - Advice for parents of school-aged children and teens (English / French).
  • ProtectKidsOnline.ca (English / French) is designed to assist parents/guardians in protecting their children on the Internet and reducing their risk of victimization. There is information available on different age groups and what they use online and learning how to use them safely, emerging issues, how to report concerns, and additional resources.

Choose from the sample newsletter inserts below to share with parents/families of elementary school students:

Is Social Media Affecting Your Child? 

In a busy world, it can be tough to balance everything! Research shows that kids feel their parents pay too much attention to their smartphones, and not enough to them. You can help your child feel important by setting time aside to be present with them. Spend time together face to face and use eye contact when chatting. You can also agree on times for everyone in the family to put electronics away, like mealtimes, bedtime and family events.  

Looking for more information? Call Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-5720 to speak with a public health nurse or visit https://www.simcoemuskokahealth.org

Screen Time and Social Media

Are you concerned about the amount of time your child is spending on screens? As a parent/caregiver, the key is to get involved, pay attention and model positive screen time habits. This resource from Caring for Kid’s has some tips and strategies to help families learn to manage their screen time: Screen time and digital media: Advice for parents of school-aged children and teens.

Media Awareness
Do you have questions about different media platforms that children use nowadays? Common Sense Media: Parenting, Media, and Everything in Between has information available for parents to navigate various platforms such as ChatGPT, Tiktok, Youtube, Snapchat, Discord and Games (Minecraft, Fortnite, etc). 

Screen Time and Sleep

Too much screen time can impact the quality and the quantity of sleep children get. Staying up too late can impact physical and mental health. Common Sense Media offers tips for managing TV, tablets, phones, and tech so your children can get a good night's sleep. Check out: How to Help Kids Balance Phones and Screens with Sleep. 

Choose from the sample newsletter inserts below to share with parents/families of secondary school students:

Screen Time and Social Media

Are you concerned about the amount of time your teen is spending on screens? As a parent/caregiver, you can help guide your teens stay safe online and set screen time limits. This resource from About Kid’s Health – Teens has some tips and strategies to help your teens learn to manage their screen time and stay safe online. 

About Kid’s Health - Teens: Setting limits and staying safe with screen time.

Media Awareness

Do you have questions about different media platforms that teens use nowadays? Common Sense Media: Parenting, Media, and Everything in Between has information available for parents to navigate various platforms such as ChatGPT, Tiktok, Youtube, Snapchat, Discord and Games (Minecraft, Fortnite, etc). 

Screen time and Sleep

Too much screen time can impact the quality and the quantity of sleep teens get. Staying up too late can impact physical and mental health. Common Sense Media offers tips for managing TV, tablets, phones, and tech so your teens can get a good night's sleep. Check out: How to Help Kids Balance Phones and Screens with Sleep.

For More information

  • PREVNet’s work is based on four strategies: education, assessment, intervention, and policy, all of which are equally important and necessary to stop interpersonal violence and victimization and to create environments where children and youth feel safe. 
For more information, call Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 or email [email protected]. 
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