5 Ways to Help Teens Cope with Media Related Anxiety

Let’s face it, 2022 is a terrifying time to be a human being. Plagued by a pandemic, war, and global catastrophe, it can feel like the end of the world is upon us. But global catastrophe is nothing new. What’s new is our constant, immediate, ever-pervading access to media. The news and stories we’re exposed to every day rob us of our ability to be naive to the injustices taking place in the world.

A recent study, published in November 2021, found that exposure to disaster-related media predicted heightened emotional distress and post-traumatic stress responses, particularly for kids and teens with low emotional regulation. In fact, among kids who were not personally impacted by a given catastrophe, their physical distance from the tragedy was not predictive of their post-traumatic response, but their consumption of disaster-related media was. In other words, kids living through a hurricane (as long as they didn’t suffer personally) could be less traumatized by the hurricane than kids living thousands of miles away, depending on how much they read the news. 

What this means is that children can form traumatic memories of catastrophic events even when they are not directly impacted. With an excess of catastrophic and sensationalized news media, our kids are being exposed to constant horror stories of what’s going on in the world, and it is having serious consequences for their mental health and well-being. 

This is obviously very scary to hear, especially as we’re all very aware of the mental health crisis affecting our teens. However, this is not all bad news. Being able to identify factors that are contributing to the mental health crisis (like disaster-related media) gives us practical things to focus on that can help our teens cope in healthy ways. 

So, what can we do about it? How can we help our kids deal with disaster-related media, preserve their mental well-being, and keep them engaged and informed about the world? 

Here are five practical tips for how you can use to help to soothe your teens’ media-related anxiety.

Yes! Open-Ended Questions are almost always one of our recommended tactics to use when supporting teens.

These types of questions are especially important when our goal is to help teens process complicated thoughts and feelings. When our teens are wrestling with the disaster of the day, often they don’t have the language to talk about what they’re experiencing. By asking them questions we provide an outlet for them to express and explore their thoughts and feelings on the matter. 

We can start with questions like, “What do you think about ____” or “How do you feel about _____” but we don’t need to stop there. If we’re concerned about how the media is affecting their mental health and well being we can follow up with “How have you been coping with these uncomfortable or painful feelings?” and “What do you find useful in helping you to find peace and relief through these upsetting times?”

We can also facilitate conversations with our teens’ peers. The reality is, our teens are far more likely to want to talk to their friends about their feelings than their parents, but most adolescents don’t have the tools to start these conversations. So we can jump-start these conversations when their friends are over. Or prompt our teens to ask their friends what they’re doing to emotionally process disaster-related media. 

The truth is, our teens are still developing their ability to regulate their emotions and their thoughts. By asking them questions and prompting them to have conversations about these topics we’re giving them the space to process thoughts and feelings they might otherwise keep bottled up.

Get curious about the types of media that your teen is consuming. Ask them what channels they follow. Ask them what they think about the information they’re receiving. It will be difficult for you to support their relationship with media if you’re unaware of what information they’re receiving. 

This could look like following the same accounts that they follow or watching YouTube videos with them. If they’re passionate about a particular media personality ask them why they feel so connected to them and what drives them to subscribe to these channels. 

It can be easy to overlook teens’ influencer obsessions or attachment to Instagram reels as teenage hysteria, but getting curious about what they’re watching is a great opportunity to connect with them and spark conversations about how they see the world and what they care about. 

• There are many media outlets that target vulnerable and impressionable populations, instilling excessive anxiety and promoting sensationalized, overdramatized, and, at times, entirely false narratives about what’s going on in the world. Teens are hungry for both information and social acceptance. They are most likely passive consumers of media, following channels that have been suggested to them by their friends, peers, and family.

Engage your teen in discussions about the strengths and limitations of the media they consume. Have conversations about how to find reputable news sources. For example, a Twitter thread simplifying the conflict in Ukraine may be useful for getting some basic background but should not be the sole source of information. Similarly, a New York Times op-ed may provide a spectacular argument on police brutality in America, but due to the opinion-based and argumentative nature of op-eds it may not be reliable for understanding the complex history of the problem.

If the media they consume is causing them stress, encourage them to look into alternative sources and/or to learn more about how media, news reporting, and storytelling works. 

For Example, The New York Times recently published a killer article about how they vet news about the conflict in Ukraine. For a teen who’s wrestling with media, understanding how news reporting operates can give them a greater sense of agency and control over the information they receive. 

• Another way to take ownership over your media use is to use apps like Freedom. Freedom allows you to set restrictions for yourself on how much time you will be able to spend on certain apps throughout the day and can even restrict access to certain apps at specific times. Additionally, Apple iOS 13.4 (and beyond) has screen time restrictions. However, we don’t recommend setting up screen restrictions for your teen. Instead, encourage them to set their own limits and learn the art of moderation. 

• Finally, media isn’t something that can only be passively consumed. One of the best things about social media is its ability to unite diverse groups of people all over the world. Ask your teen about the Internet communities that they are a part of and encourage them to broaden the scope of the media they consume and become more active in the communities that are important to them. This could be as simple as following organizations such as Planned Parenthood or ACLU and reposting important resources, or as large-scale as dedicating their page to raising money for current causes they’re passionate about.

Disaster-related media can engender feelings of despair and hopelessness. Encouraging teens to take an active role in using media to shape the world can give them a healthy way to channel their emotions around these issues. 

Media isn’t just social media and the news. There are many other mediums that can promote healthier discussions around current topics. Stories and third-party examples are much easier to talk about than real life. 

• When covid hit sales of the board game ‘Pandemic’ spiked because it was an accessible and engaging way to make sense of what was happening in the world. 

• After the death of George Floyd, artists such as Usher, Alicia Keys, and H.E.R released protest anthems to speak up about racial trauma and police brutality in America. 

Playing games, listening to music, and watching movies and TV shows can be active ways to introduce conversations about these topics that are less confronting and easier to deal with. 

What is so damaging to youth today is the pervasive feeling of impending doom and helplessness. Getting involved in organizations where your teen can make a tangible and noticeable difference will not only boost their self-esteem but help hamper these feelings of helplessness. 

• Volunteer at the local food bank or homeless shelter as a family to engage with underserved members of your community.
• Phone bank as a family with a cause that rings true to your teen or your family. Some organizations that are always taking new phone bank volunteers include Planned Parenthood, Environment America, and the Human Rights Campaign.
• Take advantage of spring cleaning & bring your old clothes to a local women’s shelter or homeless shelter. It’s an extremely practical way to show that the little things can make big changes in others’ lives. 
• Help your teen to get involved in an organization at school that aligns with their values and interests. Popular clubs at middle and high schools may include Amnesty International, UNICEF, homeless support clubs, or women’s support clubs.

We understand how painful it can be to see your child suffer from anxiety and fear about things that are out of our control. The reality is that there often isn’t much we can do about mass catastrophe and global tragedy. However, there are tangible and effective ways that we can help our teens navigate these uncomfortable feelings. We hope that these tips help you empower your teen to find strength and agency through these times, and to utilize media to help foster empathy, compassion, and advocacy.