1 . Young people are spending more time in digital spaces. The Internet allows us to connect with people, share ideas, be creative, have fun and discover new things. Unfortunately, young people also face risks online. Common problems include cyberbullying (网络欺凌), receiving unwanted messages, seeing images and content you don’t want to see, or having your private information or photos shared without your permission.

Safer Internet Day (SID) is organized in the second week of February every year, and over 180 countries take part. The aim is to raise awareness of online issues and make the Internet a safer place. SID invites everyone to be part of a big conversation about online issues. This is particularly important for teenagers because they often experience unpleasant situations online, but they don’t always feel they can talk about them.

Cyberbullying is when someone uses the Internet to embarrass, threaten or hurt another person. If you experience cyberbullying, talk to an adult you trust as soon as possible. Don’t reply to any messages but save the evidence.

Going online often means spending time alone. When you feel down, social media can make you feel lonelier. Using social media might be related to higher levels of depression. So you need healthy social media use.

Whatever app you use, make sure you know who sees your posts and personal information. Limit what people can see, decide who can comment on your content and thwart other users’ comment. It may be illegal to share a photo or video of someone without their permission. The SID’s website has advice about what to do if someone shares pictures of you that you feel embarrassed about.

There is still a lot we don’t know about how time spent online affects people’s well-being. But talking about all the issues helps everyone understand common problems and know how to deal with them.

2 . In today’s digital world, chances are that your online activities and digital consumption take up a large part of your day and perhaps your life. It’s true that there’re many benefits to the digital world.     1     For example, it can be challenging for your mood and boost feelings of anxiety, fear and depression. Although a person might be consuming positive digital content, they could be overdoing the amount of screen time. The amount of screen time you have can affect the quality of your sleep. It can even affect your brain, eyes, mental health and general health, according to Ohio State Health &Discovery.     2    

For example, it’s a good idea to establish a boundary with your digital devices and online platforms. Social media and other online entertainment platforms can be very entertaining.     3     To avoid this, you can set times and download apps that help you track your digital use and prevent you spending more time on your devices than you want.

You can also create a digital curfew (宵禁) for yourself.     4     Experiencing device-free meal time can be extremely rewarding and healthy for the entire family.

    5     This is true in the real world as well as in the digital world. Choose to spend your online time in places that make you feel good, like Goodnet, and carry out mindful consumption strategies. Prioritizing your physical and mental health is important, and you deserve to lead an enjoyable quality life.

3 . Social media truly can affect one’s life. Below are some ways how this new interactive technology can affect your life.

●Cyberbullying (网络暴力).

    1    . This has led to cyberbullying, where people use the electronic communication to send messages in a threatening nature.

Cyberbullying can be a serious issue where the victim can experience a huge amount of stress that leads to a decline in mental health. There are also cases where cyberbullying have led to suicide cases and caused death.

●Distraction (分心) and Drop In Productivity.

Do you know that social media is a huge distraction and it can interrupt your life in every level? Try to imagine you are writing an important article and suddenly someone gives you a call on Facebook, which will distract your focus. Many studies have found that the more people engage with social media, the less the person is able to focus on his work.     2    .

●Tiredness and Stress.

What do you think would happen if you stare at your computer screen or your cell phone for a long period?     3    . Plus, when you are checking social media, you are constantly switching from one task to another because there are so many things to check out and to see. This information overload will wear out your brain power and make you feel tired.

●Peer (同辈) Pressure and The Desire To Compare.

Another common way how social media can affect your life is through peer pressure. People are afraid to miss out and they love to compare themselves with other people.     4    . This is why you are using the social network in the first place.

●Other Related Health Issue.

Apart from all that being mentioned, there will be other related health issues such as blurry vision due to strain eyes as the result of long hours watching the screen.     5    , you may suffer back and neck pain issue as you have to consistently bend down your neck to look at your phone.

6 . When you get in a car, you expect it will have functioning brakes. When you pick up medicine at the drugstore, you expect it won’t be polluted. But it wasn’t always like this. The safety of these products was terrible when they first came to market. It took much research and regulation to figure out how users can enjoy the benefits of these products without getting harmed.     1    

Social media risks are everywhere. The dangers that algorithms designed to maximize attention represent to teens have become impossible to ignore. Other product design elements, often called “dark patterns,” designed to keep people using for longer, also appear to tip young users into social media overuse.     2     They say it’s their users’ fault for engaging with harmful content in the first place, even if those users are children or the content is financial trickery. They also claim to be defending free speech.

    3     Under the Digital Services Act, which came into effect in Europe this year, platforms are required to take action to stop the spread of illegal content and can be fined up to 6 percent of their global incomes if they don’t do so. If this law is enforced, maintaining the safety of their algorithms and networks will be the most financially sound decision for platforms to make.

Despite these efforts, two things are clear. First, online safety problems are leading to real, offline suffering. Second, social media companies can’t, or won’t, solve these safety problems on their own.     4       Even safety issues like cyberbullying that we thought were solved can pop right back up. As our society moves online to an ever-greater degree, the idea that anyone, even teens, can just “stay off social media” becomes less and less realistic.     5    

7 . Recent research demonstrates the harmful mental health effects caused by social media use, including increased rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal tendency and self-harm. Adolescents (青少年) who spend more than three hours per day on social media face twice the risk of poor mental health outcomes.

Addictive feeds — designed to make use of personal data to intensify (增强) users’ content that will keep them on the platform for as long as possible — have dramatically heightened the risk to young users’ well-being and made our children addicted to these social media outlets.

In the first seven years after addictive feeds were introduced, suicide rates for 10- to 14-year-old girls doubled and hospitalizations for suicidal tendency and attempts increased nearly twice for all adolescents.

Instead of responding to the problem, social media empires have made great efforts to keep and capture user engagement, and the consequences have been catastrophic.

Beyond the direct harm of social media addiction, the collection of children’s data by these giant companies puts our kids at huge risk, leaving them vulnerable (易受伤的) to having their location and other personal data tracked, shared and sold online. As a consequence, that data is at greater risk of falling into the wrong hands-including human traffickers, identity thieves and others who might prey (欺凌) on young people.

We will not stand by and watch an arms race among social media mega-corporations (大型企业) over who can best profit from our children’s pain and addiction. That is why we should use and are using every tool at our disposal to fight back against these damaging practices: from the courthouse to the statehouse.

10 . How to Protect Against Undue Influence Online

The potential for undue influence has become increasingly significant in this era of digital interconnectivity. Undue influence can affect our perceptions and influence our decisions. It may even end anger our autonomy (自主) and mental health.     1    

Understand what undue influence is

The first step to protecting yourself is understanding what undue influence is. Undue influence refers to a situation in which an individual or group employs unreasonable control over another person’s behavior information, thoughts, and emotions.     2     Disinformation campaigns, persuasive advertising, and even content designed to cause fear, uncertainty, or dependency may often appear online.

Develop media literacy skills

In an age of fake news, it is crucial to develop media literacy skills.     3     Become a consumer who can tell the quality of information, identify the source, check for credibility, and look for your unconscious assumptions and preferences.

    4    

Delete as much data as you can about yourself. Be mindful of what information you share online, and always ensure that your online activities are secured through reliable sources. Review all policies on platforms, especially “free” ones. If you aren’t paying, then you are the product, as in many cases, they are selling your data.

By including these steps into your digital life, you can protect yourself from undue influence in the online world, ensuring that you can think and act independently, free from ill control.

    5     It is your mind. Only you should control it!