In the third episode of the Optimus wellbeing podcast, Charlie Roden looks at the impact that social media is having on our mental health, and ways to make social media habits healthier.

Last year, the number of active social media users in the UK grew to 45 million. This translates to around 67% of the population. 

According to The Independent, the average Brit checks their phone as much as 28 times a day, whilst The Guardian reports that more than a third of teenagers spend at least three hours a day on social media.

Although social media is clearly now a part of our everyday lives, concerns around its potential impact on our mental health are rising. 

In this episode, we'll be looking at:

• the negative impact that social media can have on the brain [1:18]
• how social media is affecting the way children learn in the classroom [3:30]
• how teachers can change children's attitudes towards social media [6:34]
• how much social media is too much [10:26]
• criticism towards teenagers [13:04] 
• how adults use social media [15:04] and how they can model good practice [17:421
• The Female Lead [19:58]
• research around girls and social media [20:53] and how this differs for boys [23:42]
• the aims of The Female Lead [24:25] and how schools can use this organisation to support their pupils [25:48]. 

Meet our speakers!

Shahana Knight

Connections and relationships are part of what makes us feel like we belong, and sometimes social media can take away from that 

Shahana is a childhood trauma specialist who runs TPC Therapy Ltd, a mental health service for children. 

Shahana will be speaking about childhood trauma and practical strategies to help children cope with adverse childhood experiences at our Leading Safeguarding conference on Thursday 11 June in London.

Hannah Wilson

We tend to only think about the negatives of social media, but for some people their salvation or support network is in the virtual world

Hannah Wilson is the Head of Secondary Teacher Training at the University of Buckingham and co-founder of #WomenEd.

As a teacher for 18 years and a former headteacher, she is passionate about mental health and wellbeing. 

Edwina Dunn

Consuming a single diet of primarily celebrity and fashion has a very negative impact on how girls see themselves 

Edwina is the founder of The Female Lead, an educational charity dedicated to offering alternative role models and giving women a platform to share their inspirational stories. 

Follow the Optimus wellbeing podcast!

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, follow us on SoundCloud.

More from the Optimus blog

• Wellbeing podcast: teacher mental health
• Fake news and media bias: teaching children to think critically
• Social media code of conduct