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Social Media Wellness
Helping Tweens and Teens Thrive in an Unbalanced Digital World

A Joint Publication



October 2017 | 240 pages | Corwin

Solutions for navigating an ever-changing social media world

Today’s students face a challenging paradox: the digital tools they need to complete their work are often the source of their biggest distractions. Students can quickly become overwhelmed trying to manage the daily confluence of online interactions with schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and family life. Written by noted author and educator Ana Homayoun, Social Media Wellness is the first book to successfully decode the new language of social media for parents and educators and provide pragmatic solutions to help students:

  • Manage distractions 
  • Focus and prioritize 
  • Improve time-management
  • Become more organized and boost productivity
  • Decrease stress and build empathy

With fresh insights and a solutions-oriented perspective, this crucial guide will help parents, educators and students work together to promote healthy socialization, effective self-regulation, and overall safety and wellness.

Tips From Teens On Promoting Social Media Wellness

"Ana Homayoun has written the very book I’ve yearned for, a must-read for teachers and parents. I have been recommending Ana’s work for years, but Social Media Wellness is her best yet; a thorough, well-researched and eloquent resource for parents and teachers seeking guidance about how to help children navigate the treacherous, ever-changing waters of social media and the digital world."
—Jessica Lahey, Author of The Gift of Failure

"This is the book I’ve been waiting for. Ana Homayoun gives concrete strategies for parents to talk with their teens without using judgment and fear as tools. This is a guidebook you can pick up at anytime, and which your teen can read, too. I’ll be recommending it to everyone I know."
—Rachel Simmons, Author of The Curse of the Good Girl

Read About Ana Homayoun in the news:

 
PROLOGUE
 
1. Landscape: What Today’s Social Media World Looks Like for Tweens and Teens
The New Language of Technology and Social Media

 
So Much Has Changed, Yet So Much Remains the Same

 
How Social Media and Technology Affect the Overall Educational Experience

 
Summary

 
 
2. Background: Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going, and Why It Matters
How We Got Here

 
The New Social Media

 
Why All of This Is a Big Deal in Terms of Tweens, Teens, and the School Experience

 
Summary

 
 
3. Side Effects: Five Ways Social Media Affects Today’s Tweens and Teens
Altered Expectations

 
Mixed Messages

 
Information Overload

 
On-All-the-Time Mentality

 
“All About the Likes” Personal Values Development

 
Summary

 
 
4. Conversations: How to Talk About Social Media
Understand the Language and the Lingo

 
Use the Framework of Socialization, Self-Regulation, and Safety

 
Recognize the Importance of Attitude and Approach

 
Make It All About Them

 
Help Them Identify Their Values

 
Encourage Them to “Get Real” About Daily Choices and Habits

 
Work Collaboratively to Come Up with Acceptable Use Policies

 
A Word About Technology Addiction

 
Summary

 
 
5. Academic Wellness: Organization, Compartmentalization, and Energy Management in the Age of Distractions
The New Language of Technology in Schools

 
How Social Media and Technology Affect Academic Wellness

 
Optimizing Organization with Virtual Folders and In-Real-Life (IRL) Binders

 
Mapping Out Assignments and Activities

 
Managing Time and Energy

 
Stress: The Art of Monotasking and Encouraging Personal Productivity

 
Finding Flexibility for Different Learning Styles

 
The Cheating Dilemma

 
Summary

 
 
6. Social and Emotional Wellness: Encouraging Students to Be Healthy Online and In Real Life
The New Language of Social Media Socialization

 
How Social Media Affects Friendships, Relationships, and Personality Development

 
Helping Students Figure Out Their “Why”

 
Encouraging Students to Define Qualities of Healthy Relationships

 
Recognizing Negative Compensatory Behaviors

 
Understanding Connection Versus Isolation

 
Closing the Empathy Gap and Cultivating Compassion

 
Promoting Appropriate Social and Emotional Boundaries

 
Developing a Plan for Guidance and Support

 
Acknowledging and Validating the Bystander Experience

 
Summary

 
 
7. Physical Wellness: Finding Balance in an Unbalanced World
The Teetering Imbalance

 
Promoting Sleep

 
Encouraging Stress Management

 
Focusing on Functional Exercise

 
Understanding Addiction

 
Knowing the Signs and Getting Help

 
Protection from Physical Harm and Danger

 
Summary

 
 
8. Moving Forward: Implementing the Strategies at School and at Home
Things to Think About at School

 
Reflecting as a School

 
Things to Think About at Home

 
Reflecting on the Home Front

 
 
Recommended Reading List
 
Acknowledgments
 
Endnotes
 
Index

"Ana Homayoun has written the very book I’ve yearned for, a must-read for teachers and parents. I have been recommending Ana’s work for years, but Social Media Wellness is her best yet; a thorough, well-researched and eloquent resource for parents and teachers seeking guidance about how to help children navigate the treacherous, ever-changing waters of social media and the digital world."

Jessica Lahey, Author of New York Times bestseller "The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed"
Lyme, NH

"This is the book I’ve been waiting for. Ana Homayoun gives concrete strategies for parents to talk with their teens without using judgment and fear as tools. This is a guidebook you can pick up at anytime, and which your teen can read, too. I’ll be recommending it to everyone I know."

Rachel Simmons, Author of New York Times bestseller "The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence"
Girls Leadership, New York City, NY

"This is the essential guide to navigating the ephemeral and transactional communications woven into the language of social media online and IRL. I relished every page of this book. It was jam-packed with sound and seasoned self-management and executive-functioning tips and systems. The research and artfully reconstructed narratives, tools, ideas, and reflective questions feed the systematic and practical approaches the author shares to empower students, parents, and educators alike. I can’t wait to add this to my professional library and share it with all of my teachers!!!"

Lisa Johnson, Author of "Cultivating Communication and the Classroom"

"I wish every parent, teacher, teen and tween knew Ana Homayoun as I do. As a journalist, she’s long been my go-to source for advice on social media dilemmas affecting families because she is smart, wise and—above all—empathetic. I’m so glad to see Social Media Wellness is now available to everyone. Buy it. Like it. Share it."

Steven Petrow, “Digital Life” Columnist
USA Today, Chapel Hill, NC

"Keeping up with tweens and teens on social media often seems like a dizzying task that leaves us, the adults, lost and confused--too often giving up. Social Media Wellness brings great clarity to the matter offering actionable advice for parents and schools. In her typical style, Homayoun is realistic, pragmatic and refreshingly straight forward. She gets our attention without using scare tactics and then gives us, parents and educators, the tools to most effectively help out children find wellness in the social media age."

Andrew Davis, Head of School
Mt. Tam School, Mill Valley, CA

"In our selfie society, teens and tweens encounter constant temptations and threats to their social, emotional, physical, and academic health. Ana Homayoun’s new book provides strategies to “unselfie” our teens and develop a healthy, balanced relationship with social media."

Michele Borba, Author of "Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in our All About Me World"
Palm Springs, CA

"Ana Homayoun demonstrates how social media and our digital lives have reoriented relationships and how we think. In her book she offers vital tools and strategies for this revolution - whether you're a teacher, parent or student. I found myself challenged from each of these viewpoints!"

Homa Tavangar, Global Education Adviser
Growingupglobal.net

"Rich with stories and thoughtful interpretations of tweens' and teens' online habits, curiosities, and consequences, Ana provides parents and educators an especially powerful resource to confidently guide our students and children with tools, counsel and reassurance as they navigate social media. Bravo!"

Stephanie Balmer, Head of School
Harpeth Hall School, Nashville, TN

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1


For instructors

Please contact your Academic Consultant to check inspection copy availability for your course.

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ISBN: 9781483358185
£23.99

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