New
New
Year 10

Social media and mental health

I can describe the potential effects of social media on mental health.

New
New
Year 10

Social media and mental health

I can describe the potential effects of social media on mental health.

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Social media enables us to stay in touch with people around the world.
  2. Social media can make comparison with the lives of others easy.
  3. Social media can distort our sense of what is normal.
  4. Other people's social media feeds can look better than reality.
  5. 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...

Find images of social media influencers online who have filtered or edited photos, explain to pupils what changes have been made to the image and discuss with them the harms of us comparing ourselves to a distorted ideal of what we should look like.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
  • Depiction or discussion of mental health issues

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the words to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:socialise,to talk or spend time with friends, family or new people

to talk or spend time with friends, family or new people

Correct Answer:influence,the effect that something has on the way a person thinks or behaves

the effect that something has on the way a person thinks or behaves

Correct Answer:impact,having an effect on something

having an effect on something

Q2.
Our time online should be combined with...
Correct answer: plenty of good quality sleep
infrequent physical activity
Correct answer: use of screen limits
Correct answer: socialising with people offline
Q3.
Which of the following is an unhealthy way to use the internet?
socialising with friends who live far away
Correct answer: putting off other jobs to spend time online
using the internet for homework
Q4.
Match the type of unhealthy online behaviour online with the description.
Correct Answer:doomscrolling,scrolling through negative content for hours at a time

scrolling through negative content for hours at a time

Correct Answer:comparison trap,seeing another person's lifestyle/body image and wishing you had it

seeing another person's lifestyle/body image and wishing you had it

Correct Answer:echo chamber,only looking at content that you agree with or is the same as yours

only looking at content that you agree with or is the same as yours

Q5.
The internet can connect people through communities with shared .
Correct Answer: experiences, solidarity, interests, experience
Q6.
What word is this the definition of? How we value and perceive ourselves.
self-confidence
Correct answer: self-esteem
body image

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the word to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:distort,to twist or change to reality

to twist or change to reality

Correct Answer:mental health,the health of our minds and emotions

the health of our minds and emotions

Correct Answer:compare,to look at how similar or different we are to someone else

to look at how similar or different we are to someone else

Q2.
Which of the following is not a benefit of social media?
connecting us with others
allowing us to see the lives of others around the world
Correct answer: looking at images that are distorted by filters
Q3.
Social media can our view of what we consider 'normal'.
Correct Answer: distort, change, twist
Q4.
Which of the following statements about social media are incorrect?
Correct answer: social media always reflects reality
social media can make people's reality look better than it is
social media can be a part of a balanced lifestyle
Q5.
Unhealthy social media use can cause serious conditions.
Correct Answer: mental health
Q6.
How can we support ourselves and others to use social media safely?
Correct answer: report and block any harmful accounts
Correct answer: speak to a trusted adult about concerns
ignore and keep worries to yourself
Correct answer: follow accounts that promote positive messages
compare ourselves to unrealistic social media expectations