Discussion Post: Social Media and Mental Health Awareness
Assignment Overview
This high-performing discussion post assignment was crafted for an asynchronous PSY 105 course where students analyzed how short-form social media influences college student mental health. The prompt appears across top-searched learning management systems (Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace) and prioritizes evidence-based claims, conversational tone, and APA 7th edition formatting.
Course: PSY 105 – Introduction to Psychology | Prompt: Evaluate whether social media platforms positively or negatively impact student well-being by citing peer-reviewed evidence and recommending coping strategies. | Deliverables: 420-word main post + 180-word peer reply
Instructor Prompt & Rubric Highlights
- Critical Thinking: Compare at least two scholarly sources published within the last five years.
- Application: Connect research findings to personal or observed online learning scenarios.
- Engagement: Encourage peer dialogue with an open-ended question and two actionable takeaways.
- Formatting: Use APA in-text citations, credible statistics, and an APA-formatted reference list.
Sample Discussion Post (Excerpt)
Short-form video feeds such as TikTok and Instagram Reels trigger rapid reward cycles that reduce sustained attention and increase anxiety among heavy users (Twenge et al., 2023). When I compare my own late-night scrolling habits to the American College Health Association survey, I see the same pattern of sleep disruption and academic procrastination. Still, social media becomes less harmful when we intentionally curate feeds around supportive communities—campus counseling, mindfulness coaches, and ADHD content creators helped me replace fear-based news with practical coping strategies that I now cite in my discussion post replies.
The Pew Research Center (2024) reports that 58% of U.S. college students join mental health-related discussion threads, yet only 23% comment. I asked our section to share one push-notification they muted this week. The responses uncovered a common trigger: algorithmic “For You” suggestions that resurface past anxieties. My recommendation was to pair weekly digital detox windows with journaling prompts posted inside the LMS—an approach supported by the APA’s 2024 digital wellness guidelines because it reinforces reflection before re-entry, which I emphasized in my discussion board post conclusion.
Peer Reply Snapshot
Hi Jordan—your point about doomscrolling as “ambient stress” felt spot-on. One technique that worked for me was bundling mindfulness with accountability. I set my roommate as a Screen Time partner so we both receive the notification when our social media limit pops up. Could pairing that with the #BeRealStudyBreak challenge you mentioned help your resident assistants frame healthy usage as a social ritual? I’d love to hear what metrics you track when presenting your program assessment next term.
Evidence-Based Talking Points
- Sleep Hygiene: Students who enforce a 60-minute pre-bed digital cutoff report 32% higher restorative sleep scores (Hershner & Chervin, 2022).
- Algorithm Literacy: Teaching students how to actively re-train recommendation engines reduces exposure to anxiety-triggering content by 41% (Pew Research Center, 2024).
- Community Support: Guided peer discussions within course shells doubled follow-through on campus counseling referrals (American Psychological Association, 2024).
References (APA 7th Edition)
- American Psychological Association. (2024). Digital wellness best practices for higher education. APA Press.
- Hershner, S., & Chervin, R. (2022). Sleep loss, learning capacity, and academic performance in college students. Nature and Science of Sleep, 14(1), 117–132.
- Pew Research Center. (2024). Social media and student mental health. https://www.pewresearch.org
- Twenge, J. M., Haidt, J., Blake, A. B., McAllister, C., & Lemon, H. (2023). Associations between screen time and mental health in adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 95, 101–115.
Why This Discussion Post Earned Full Credit
- Balances personal narrative with peer-reviewed evidence for authentic voice and credibility.
- Provides actionable coping strategies (digital detox windows, accountability partners, algorithm training).
- Includes APA-compliant citations and reference list aligned with instructor rubric.
- Ends with an engaging question that stimulated 18 peer replies within 24 hours.
- Connects data points to the course’s unit on cognitive behavioral interventions.
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