Blog
Maja, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Participant of the “Preserving Mental Health in Time of Social Media (Ab)use” Project
Like many people in my generation, I am constantly on social media, also because I am PR in one association, trying to maintain a safe virtual identity (which is why I don’t post any pictures of myself online). However, in the sea of posts, information, and events, I often forget to think about my mental health.
This is why I wanted to participate in this Erasmus+ project. I often find myself in situations where there is too much pressure around me and not enough time to finish everything. It affects me even more when I fail to complete all my tasks for the day, and social media portrays that everybody can achieve everything and they are presenting the perfect life which I usually do not have. Therefore, it was important for me to understand the factors affecting my mental health and their consequences. I want to learn how to identify and handle these negative influences. The best thing that I learned is that it’s okay not to be okay and you can always search for help. You don’t have to blindly believe everything that you see on the internet.
This exchange provided me with an opportunity for personal and professional growth. It allowed me to expand my knowledge, skills, and network of contacts. I had the chance to learn, build my personality, and think more about social media.
Emilija, Latvia
Participant of the “Preserving Mental Health in Time of Social Media (Ab)use” Project
In times when we are facing a lot of hate speech and intolerance, we should pay attention to our mental health more. It is important because if our brain is healthy, our body is too. Sure ti can be quite challenging to deal with those negative outcomes. But always remembering that only you know your true self and nobody else determines you, you do not get affected by others.
The main things to take into consideration are:
- Do not answer to hate comments with hate. Rather ignore them or write back something positive;
- Control your time spending on social media. Set a timer. Set up automatic app blocking app;
- Use filters to filter out trigger words and themes;
- Make a “Close Friends” or similar list if possible to avoid showing more personal things to everybody,
- Immediately block anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable or annoys you in social media.
Amila, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Participant of the “Preserving Mental Health in Time of Social Media (Ab)use” Project
Title: It´s okay not to be okay.
Hello,
I am Amila, a young person from Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Like many other young people, I am present on social media and try to keep my online identity safe. But, in the sea of posts, information and events, I often don’t have time to think about my mental health. Therefore, today I am writing about why I applied to be part of the ERASMUS+ exchange “Preserving Mental Health in Times of Social Media (Ab)use”. I often put myself in a situation where I feel too much pressure, to allow certain situations or the behavior of others to affect my mental health. Especially when I don’t get to finish all the tasks I plan for a certain day or week, and the environment through social networks shows me that “real leaders” can get there and solve everything. For this reason, it was important for me to better understand the causes that affect my mental health as well as the consequences. To know how to recognize and avoid them. We often perceive young people as more carefree than adults, however their lives are filled with emotional ups and downs, which is important for them to understand each other in their environment. During the exchange, I grew and learned that:
● I cannot change other people’s behavior, but I can change my reactions to information and situations;
● people love calls just as much as texts;
● I don’t compare myself to others, but only to myself (who I was yesterday and who I am today);
● I appreciate the time I spend in nature and without my phone;
● It’s okay to not be okay.
This exchange was an opportunity for my personal and professional growth, allowing me to expand my knowledge, skills, and network. I had the opportunity to learn from phenomenal young people, to build my personality and to think critically. A piece of their spirit I carry with me, as well as many tools to be better – for myself and for others.
Ilhan, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Participant of the “Preserving Mental Health in Time of Social Media (Ab)use” Project
Well, first I want to say why I applied to this project. A year ago, I was hacked, and all my data was stolen. But that’s not the end, people who hacked me started to upload something that is bad, and they also started to message people and trying to buy something etc. So, I have been through social media abuse, and applied here because I wanted to hear other experiences and others’ point of view.
So, what have I learned on this project?
First, I didn’t know that breathing has so much impact on us, and that breathing can calm us that much. So, I can say that I will use that tool more in the future. Then we learned a lot about using social media in the right way. We also learned how to be ourselves. We don’t need to follow some trend or something like that, we need to be ourselves. Well, I was like that before this project but now I’m going to be me more. Also, I learned a lot about other things not just the topic we covered on presentations.
In overall, this project had a good impact on me, and this project is beyond my expectation. The people were nice, and our facilitator had so much positive energy and I was enjoying his presentation. On this project, I also started to analyze myself more and I found out that I need to work a little bit on me. Throughout my childhood, I have been through a lot, so I generally condemn people, but now I’m positive that I will change that because never judge a book by its cover. So, this was a great project, and I enjoyed every moment here, and I learned a lot, so thank you everyone.
Participant of the “Preserving Mental Health in Time of Social Media (Ab)use” Project
Reflection on the Project “Social Media in the Time of (Ab)use”
The project “Social Media in the Time of (Ab)use” was very educational and opened our eyes to many aspects of using social media, both positive and negative. Through our research, we learned several key things that we would like to share.
What We Learned
Misuse of Social Media
One of the most important topics was the misuse of social media. We learned how misinformation spreads, how hate speech and cyberbullying can affect people, and how algorithms can manipulate users. It became clear that such practices can have serious consequences on mental health, interpersonal relationships, and society as a whole. We also understood the importance of educating users about these issues and implementing stricter regulations for platforms.
The Role of Algorithms
Algorithms play a significant role in shaping our social media experience. We learned how they work and how they can manipulate what we see. This was a major challenge because we realized how difficult it is to balance content personalization and maintaining ethical standards. We thought about how algorithms could be more transparent and accountable.
Positive Use of Social Media
Although we focused on misuse, we did not forget the positive aspects of social media. They can be a powerful tool for connecting people, spreading educational content, and supporting social movements. It was inspiring to see examples of successful campaigns that used social media to raise awareness and drive positive change.
Psychological and Social Impacts
The project covered the psychological and social effects of using social media, such as addiction, anxiety, depression, and FOMO (fear of missing out). We understood how different groups of people experience social media and what strategies are best for mitigating negative effects. This showed us how important it is to continue researching and providing support for users’ mental health.
Ethical and Legal Dimensions
One of the key aspects was the legal and ethical regulation of social media. We discussed current laws, their shortcomings, and potential improvements. We learned that balancing freedom of speech and user protection is very challenging and requires international cooperation.
Conclusion
The project “Social Media in the Time of (Ab)use” helped us better understand the complex relationship between users and social media. The most important lesson we learned is that, although social media carries risks of misuse, it also offers tremendous opportunities for positive change. By combining regulation, education, and technical innovation, we can work towards creating a safer and more beneficial digital environment. This is just the beginning, but it provides a good foundation for future research and action.
Adela, Austria
Participant of the “Preserving Mental Health in Time of Social Media (Ab)use” Project
The project “Social Media in the Time of (Ab)use” was very educational and opened our eyes to many aspects of using social media, both positive and negative. Through our research, we learned several key things that we would like to share.
One of the most important topics was the misuse of social media. We learned how misinformation spreads, how hate speech and cyberbullying can affect people, and how algorithms can manipulate users. It became clear that such practices can have serious consequences on mental health, interpersonal relationships, and society as a whole. We also understood the importance of educating users about these issues and implementing stricter regulations for platforms.
Algorithms play a significant role in shaping our social media experience. We learned how they work and how they can manipulate what we see. This was a major challenge because we realized how difficult it is to balance content personalization and maintaining ethical standards. We thought about how algorithms could be more transparent and accountable.
Positive Use of Social MediaAlthough we focused on misuse, we did not forget the positive aspects of social media. They can be a powerful tool for connecting people, spreading educational content, and supporting social movements. It was inspiring to see examples of successful campaigns that used social media to raise awareness and drive positive change.
The project covered the psychological and social effects of using social media, such as addiction, anxiety, depression, and FOMO (fear of missing out). We understood how different groups of people experience social media and what strategies are best for mitigating negative effects. This showed us how important it is to continue researching and providing support for users’ mental health.
One of the key aspects was the legal and ethical regulation of social media. We discussed current laws, their shortcomings, and potential improvements. We learned that balancing freedom of speech and user protection is very challenging and requires international cooperation.
The project “Social Media in the Time of (Ab)use” helped us better understand the complex relationship between users and social media. The most important lesson we learned is that, although social media carries risks of misuse, it also offers tremendous opportunities for positive change. By combining regulation, education, and technical innovation, we can work towards creating a safer and more beneficial digital environment. This is just the beginning, but it provides a good foundation for future research and action.
Meris, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Participant of the “Preserving Mental Health in Time of Social Media (Ab)use” Project
Social Media, Busy Life and Mental Health
Let’s talk about struggling. Imagine volunteering and leading a youth NGO that has over 30 volunteers. A lot of people text you constantly in your free time, you get a lot of emails and calls. Then imagine that you are an entrepreneur building your own company. In that scenario you don’t really have a set working schedule, because you try to work as much as you can, communicate with a lot of clients and partners. Then also imagine that you are active in a lot of different programs where you constantly get notifications and requests for finishing small tasks.
I am Meris from Bosnia and Herzegovina and that would describe my everyday life pretty much. I am the founder and President of the youth NGO Plus Ultra, founder and CEO of a EdTech StartUp Encode as well as consultant and soft skills trainer active in two professional communities. I am always available to people. They write to me during the day, during the night, on the weekends and I struggle dealing with that. I often feel like I have huge weights above me when I get a lot of notifications from different people. Everybody wants a fast answer and everybody wants it now. In that moment even small tasks that take me 30 seconds or 1 minute become huge in my head. It becomes harder and harder to organize myself and more and more massages and tasks compile on my to do list. During time it gets only worse. Social media has become a burden and lately for me they have only been a source of distraction to forget about all the different messages and requests I have.
That’s why I applied for the Erasmus+ youth exchange PRESERVE – Preserving Mental Health in Time of Social Media (Ab)use. I wanted to focus on myself and my mental health and learn how to deal with everything.
I have learned the following:
● I am in control and I can just say no to some things. I control what I do and how I feel. I need to improve my emotional intelligence and build up emotional resilience;
● It is great if dedicate a specific time during day for answering messages – preferably at the end of the working day;
● During weekends I can turn off notifications and focus on myself – disconnect from the digital world and all the pressure;
● I would benefit a lot from having a detox day where I leave the phone at home;
● I restricted stories from a lot of people that drain my energy;
● I will delegate more tasks to other people and trust other more, so that I don’t need to be in control of everything.