Unfollow people and pages that make you feel bad.
Many of the teens we spoke to said that whenever possible, they remove accounts from their social media feeds that hurt their self-esteem. ,experts agree It’s good practice.) “Your focus is power,” said Janine Edmonds, 14, of South Jamaica, Queens. “On TikTok, you can go and click ‘not interested’ on a video. Or block people you don’t like. It’s nothing suspicious, it’s just that I don’t want you at my place.”
Kamryn Nutzel, 16, of New Orleans, unfollowed influencers she saw that made her feel lousy, and when she started feeling her FOMO creep up, she tried to isolate herself. These are – by taking a bath, applying a face mask or simply going to bed early. “If I find myself in that cycle where I’m comparing myself, I will Just unfollow that person,” she said. Sometimes, she even deletes her apps for a day or two, until she feels better.
Ask yourself, who are you posting for?
Four out of five teenagers in the United States said that what they see on social media makes them feel more connected to what is going on in their friends’ lives, According to Pew Research Center, Ella Moyer, 17, of Scottsdale, Ariz., approaches Instagram in a similar way: “It’s a memory box You,” she said, adding a highlight reel of fun moments to share with friends and family, like photos from her prom night. “Every time I open my phone, I don’t see perfect celebrities,” she said. “I just look at my friends.”
Put down your phone and go outside!
Studies have shown that spending more time outside, even if short as two hours a weekcan make us healthy and happy, Rosalina Pinkhasova, 14, spent a lot of time this summer in the new inflatable pool her family installed in their backyard in Fresh Meadows, Queens. “Sometimes I like to set an alarm to tell me when to stop being on my phone,” she said.
Noor Rauf, 14, of Astoria, Queens, and her friends have created a “phone down” rule when one of them has something important to share. “Sometimes we’ll just sit there and we don’t feel like talking, so we’ll be on our phones,” he said. “But if we really want to talk about something, everyone turns off their phones.”
