{"id":11181,"date":"2023-02-08T10:16:52","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T10:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yogajournal.com\/?p=108979"},"modified":"2023-02-08T10:16:52","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T10:16:52","slug":"social-media-makes-teens-materialistic-science-suggests-mindfulness-can-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/08\/social-media-makes-teens-materialistic-science-suggests-mindfulness-can-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media Makes Teens Materialistic. Science Suggests Mindfulness Can Help."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
\n

Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth yoga, fitness, & nutrition courses, when you <a href="https:\/\/www.yogajournal.com\/outsideplus" class="o-content-cta-link" data-analytics-event="click" data-analytics-data="{"name":"Element Clicked","props":{"destination_url":"\/outsideplus","domain":"<>","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}”>sign up for Outside+<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Kids! They\u2019re always asking for something. The newest sneakers. The latest phone. That coveted video game console.<\/p>\n

That tendency to want, want, want may be exacerbated by\u2014surprise!\u2014social media. But it\u2019s not that simply engaging in social media makes young people materialistic. A recent study of more than 800 adolescents indicates that the link between social media use and materialism may be connected with a teen\u2019s levels of self esteem and mindfulness. Here\u2019s how it works.<\/p>\n

The Cons of Making Comparisons<\/h2>\n

Researchers looking at the relationship between social media use and materialism found that the more adolescents use social media, the more opportunities there are to rate themselves and compare what they own to others.<\/p>\n

Psychologists call our tendency to measure ourselves against others \u201csocial comparison.\u201d Upward social comparison is when you compare yourself with someone who seems to have it better than you; downward social comparison looks at someone who is worse off. When a child\u2014or anyone, really\u2014perceives other people as having more or doing better, it can increase their sense of missing out or wanting more.<\/p>\n

It makes sense, then, that if a teen\u2019s sense of self worth is low, they may be more likely to perceive others as doing better or having more. And how to compensate for that uncomfortable feeling? Make up for it by buying something new.<\/p>\n

Can Mindfulness Minimize Materialism?<\/h2>\n

While the research identified esteem as a direct link between social media use and materialism, researchers also found that having a mindfulness practice<\/a> can soften the materialistic edge.<\/p>\n

Tracy L. Daniel, PhD, a child psychologist and founder of Mindful Child Aerial Yoga and Wellness, explains it this way: \u201cMindfulness is free of judgment\u2014it is simply being present in the moment, not labeling things as good or bad. This ability to reflect and not judge may be associated with children not comparing themselves with others on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

They may be less likely to feel envious of someone else\u2019s belongings or triggered by seeing someone else do well. She says she has noticed that children who have a mindfulness practice<\/a> tend to pause and reflect instead of reacting with an impulsive desire for something just because they see it.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of reacting like \u2018I wish I had this,\u2019 they can reflect on \u2018I\u2019m grateful I have what I have,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cA consistent mindfulness practice can change the brain and the way children react to situations,\u201d says Daniel. She sites research by Harvard psychology professor Sara Lazar who studies the neuroscience of yoga and meditation. Lazar\u2019s research found that practicing mindfulness<\/a> for 10 minutes a day for 8 weeks can be an effective way to change habits of thinking.<\/p>\n

How to Teach Your Child\u2013and Yourself\u2014Mindfulness<\/h2>\n

Helping your teen become more mindful, though, means getting your teen off the phone for that long. And that may be easier said than done.<\/p>\n

First, remind them that mindfulness isn\u2019t just sitting in silence. (Boring!) There are all kinds of ways to pay mindful attention. Cooking and eating involves attending to the aroma, color, texture temperature, and taste of food. Except for the taste part, the same applies to painting, working with clay, or doing some other hands-on craft. Dance or another form of movement may help your young one more aware of how they feel in their bodies. Get in touch with your child\u2019s interests and find a mindful application.<\/p>\n

\u201cSet a time limit for social media by setting an alarm,\u201d says Daniel, author of Mindfulness for Children: 150+ Mindfulness Activities for Happier, Healthier, Stress-Free Kids. \u201cOnce the time is up, put your phones on airplane mode and do something fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Airplane mode applies to everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to model it for children,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you\u2019re modeling being on your phone or on social media, that\u2019s what children are going to see and that\u2019s what they\u2019re going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also incorporate mindfulness into their daily activities. Help them learn to pay attention to what they are sensing and experiencing. \u201cSo if you\u2019re brushing your teeth, what does the toothpaste look like? What does it smell like? What sounds do I hear from the water? What does it feel like? What do I taste?\u201d Learning to notice and appreciate the details of their lives can make them happier and mentally healthier<\/a>. (That goes for you, too.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"Social<\/figure>\n

Having a contemplative practice can curb the impulse to “want want want.”<\/p>\n

The post Social Media Makes Teens Materialistic. Science Suggests Mindfulness Can Help.<\/a> appeared first on Yoga Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[37,35,36],"class_list":["post-11181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ayurveda","tag-blogs","tag-yoga","tag-yogacourseware"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}