Social media and mental health
I can describe the potential effects of social media on mental health.
Social media and mental health
I can describe the potential effects of social media on mental health.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Social media enables us to stay in touch with people around the world.
- Social media can make comparison with the lives of others easy.
- Social media can distort our sense of what is normal.
- Other people's social media feeds can look better than reality.
- Unhealthy online activity can lead to mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression and addiction.
Keywords
Distort - to twist or change to reality
Mental health - the health of our minds and emotions
Compare - to look at how similar or different we are to someone else
Common misconception
What we see on social media is a reflection of people's real lives and experiences.
Social media feeds can distort our knowledge of what is real because people can curate their feeds to only feature the best moments of their lives.
To help you plan your year 10 rshe (pshe) lesson on: Social media and mental health, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 rshe (pshe) lesson on: Social media and mental health, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 rshe (pshe) lessons from the Our online lives: How can being online impact my life? unit, dive into the full secondary rshe (pshe) curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
- Depiction or discussion of mental health issues
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Starter quiz
6 Questions
to talk or spend time with friends, family or new people
the effect that something has on the way a person thinks or behaves
having an effect on something
scrolling through negative content for hours at a time
seeing another person's lifestyle/body image and wishing you had it
only looking at content that you agree with or is the same as yours
Exit quiz
6 Questions
to twist or change to reality
the health of our minds and emotions
to look at how similar or different we are to someone else