Introduction

How has your experience been on the internet? Perhaps you have used the internet to interact with friends on social media, play video games, and stay up to date on your favorite topics. While the internet can be a great place to have positive experiences by yourself or with friends, there are also a few things you should keep in mind to make sure you are always having a great experience and avoiding negative situations.
What do you need to know?
One of the most important topics to keep in mind while having fun online is the topic of internet safety, or what we like to call “Digital Wellbeing”. In short, digital wellbeing means that you are using the internet in a safe and useful way while avoiding any harmful situations that may result in a negative experience.
To start with, here are some of the most important issues that you should keep in mind:

• Cyberbullying: While using the internet, some young people may choose to call others nasty names, spread rumors about them, share hurtful and abusive messages, or share humiliating photos to hurt others.
• Online time: It is natural for some young people to feel the need to keep checking their phones or browse social media for long hours. This is especially true today because of the amount of social media applications which make use feel like we need to stay updated with all our friends on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and others.
• Online gaming: There are hundreds of online games today that can be played on your mobile, PC, laptop, or tablet device. Online gaming can be an amazing way to enjoy playing with friends and applying your imagination. However, it can also have some downsides, especially if you are playing for too many hours a day.
• Pressure from social media: Did you ever notice how happy and good looking everyone seems to be on social media these days? With the rise of social media filters and the ability to take high-quality pictures at any angle of our choosing, it may seem like everyone on social media is living an amazing life all the time. However, this is rarely a reflection of reality since we all can feel sad or down from time to time. These “picture-perfect” images can place unrealistic pressures on us to try and feel or act a certain way.

General Advice

There are many things that we can do to make sure we get the best experience from the internet while being careful about the issues we discussed above. What are some general tips that you can apply today to enhance your online experience?

• Take a balanced approach: If used too much, even the best tools can result in a negative experience. The internet is certainly a perfect example of this! Here are some actions you can take to reduce your time spent online:
  • Reduce the number of social media apps you use to a minimum.
  • Turn off notifications from your social media app so they don’t keep pulling you back to your phone.
  • Use your phone’s built-in features to learn how much time you are spending on different apps. You can use the same features to limit your screen time or time spent on certain applications.
• Make a conscious effort to have more offline activities: Are you registered in a football club, or do you often take time to sit and talk with your family and friends? Trying to increase your outdoor and offline activities will naturally result in you spending less time online and help you have a balanced lifestyle.
• Don’t respond to bullies: If someone online is being mean to you or others, don’t pay too much attention. They may be frustrated about something in their lives, or simply having a bad day.  Responding to them will simply make things worse.
• Remember that the online world does not always reflect reality: While most people on social media shared photos of themselves having a good time, or going through a positive experience, we should not think that this is always the reality. Seeing so many smiles and laughs on social media makes us feel pressured or anxious about our own lives. Always remind yourselves that as humans, it is natural for us not to feel happy all the time.

Talk to someone

If you have had a negative experience online or feel that you might have one in the future, think about who you can trust to share your thoughts. Maybe you can speak with your parents, family members, or teachers who can give you advice on how to handle the situation.
Even if you feel embarrassed or scared to share your thoughts, it is perfectly okay to share your experience with someone you trust. We can all go through negative experiences online, but by simply sharing our experience with someone we trust, we can feel much better and safer using the internet in the future.