MENTAL HEALTH MAY BE LINKED TO SOCIAL MEDIA USE

Social media has become a big part of teenagers’ lives, especially for the ages of 15-18. I do not think that it is a coincidence that with social media being used by almost all teenagers of this generation, mental health issues have also become more of a problem. Social media is a huge reason for why teenagers do not get the proper amount of sleep at night and why cyberbullying is happening more often. These are only some of the factors of social media that are affecting the mental health of teenagers, but I believe they are problems that need to be addressed to help improve mental health.

As a teenager, Instagram and other forms of social media take up a lot of my time and I know it is the same for a lot of teenagers as well. Teenagers get distracted by different posts and end up being on Instagram a lot later than they intended to be. This takes away from teenagers getting a good sleep. Because of social media, there has been a lot more cyberbullying which is affecting the self-esteem and confidence of teenagers. People are quick to judge and make fun of people over Instagram because people find it easier to say something mean behind a screen than to somebody’s face. It is also common for teenagers to lose self-esteem because of the models they see on Instagram, this can give teenagers a negative outlook on their own body image.

Teenagers start to think that they need to look like a model to fit into society.

Social media is a contributing factor to the poor mental health of teenagers. I believe more awareness should be brought to this subject through the education system and the use of social media platforms because that is where teenagers spend most of their time, either in school or online.

Ashleigh Marshall,

Halifax

UPEI student

WIMPY ABOUT WEATHER

While I’m happy to give credit to our weather forecasters, locally and regionally, I take exception to calling a day of -8 to -10 C “bitter cold.”

Today, Feb. 6, we have a couple of weather systems to pass through or over our Island and already I’ve heard one visitor say, “They’re saying 40 centimetres of snow.” Too ridiculous to even respond to.

I’ve lived on this Island 72 plus years and like my late mother, I can feel it in my bones what a weather system will do (or not do).

So far, this fall and winter, there have been two weather systems that kept me inside. The first was on Nov. 30, and while not severe in Charlottetown, it was bad enough to delay the Santa parade until the next day. That “storm” day became my Christmas baking day.

There was only one nasty day in January where I didn’t venture out.

Overall, we are having a great winter (remember 2015), or take a “gander” at our Newfoundland neighbours.

As for Halifax, they’ve had more rain systems than snow. I hear young TV forecasters often saying, “So bundle up. It’s going to be a cold start tomorrow,” when it is going to be -10 or -12 C.

I’m tempted to say they are a tad wimpy. I relish going walking in those minuses, in fact, I can recall some of my best walks in weather beyond -20 C with wind chill.

Perhaps this Celsius scale makes things seem much worse than it really is!

Kathy Birt, Charlottetown