Helping your teen manage news anxiety

Support your child in a digital landscape

In today’s digital age, the constant stream of news can overwhelm anyone, especially teens who are often vulnerable to feeling anxious and who spend a lot of time on social media.

As a parent, you can play a super important role in helping your teen manage their mental health and, more specifically, any "news anxiety" they may have. So, here are some tips to guide your teen.

Encourage media literacy 🧠

• Identify reliable sources: help your teen focus on established newspapers, trusted news websites, and official government announcements. Encourage them to be sceptical of overly dramatic headlines and to read beyond the headline
• Critical thinking: discuss how to distinguish between facts and opinions in the news. Encourage them to question just one person’s opinion or the opinion of a convincing voice vs. an expert voice, and to consider multiple opposing perspectives

Promote fact-checking 🧑‍💻

• Verify information: teach your teen to cross-reference information using multiple sources. Show them how to rely on experts for complex topics like politics or health
• Use fact-checking tools: introduce them to reputable fact-checking websites to ensure they're reading credible news, for example “Full Fact” or “Reuters”

Teach caution with unknown sources 📖

• Read beyond headlines: encourage your teen to look at the details and sources within stories from unfamiliar outlets
• Understand evolving news: help them grasp that news evolves and not all predictions are accurate, e.g. people debating if World War 3 may happen does not guarantee it WILL happen

Promote self-care and limit setting ⏳

• Take breaks: encourage your teen to engage in activities that bring them joy outside of the news or social media use, like exercise or spending time with friends – luna's got a piece on how to spot the signs that your teen has a phone addiction, which may help you decide how necessary this is
• Model healthy habits: set an example by taking your own breaks from news consumption and focusing on self-care e.g. switching it off over dinner or balancing the bad stories with good news stories

Break the scrolling cycle ✋

Many people take social media breaks throughout the day. Unfortunately, that consumption can turn into a coping mechanism, becoming counterproductive or even harmful. And while many people seek to break this cycle of scrolling, it’s hard to stop without an intentional alternative.

To help people expand their self-care practice with other stress-management options, HelpGuide created this guide, Relaxation Techniques for Stress Relief, that covers:

• Lesser-known stress relief techniques like body scan meditation
• How to find the right method for your needs
• Tips for starting and sticking to a relaxation practice

Foster open communication 🗣️

• Discuss concerns: encourage open dialogue about their anxieties related to the news. Show empathy and provide reassurance
• Offer support: let them know it's normal to feel anxious and that you're there to help them navigate their emotions

Hope this has given you some ideas about how to approach news anxiety in your teen – by encouraging media literacy, promoting fact-checking, and fostering open communication, you can hopefully guide your teen in how to consume news in a way that’s healthier and better for their mental wellbeing.

Why not support your teen with luna premium?

Our app, luna, has dedicated advice on this topic which can help them feel more empowered through adolescence.

You can think of luna as a modern, digital approach to wellbeing – it’s cost-effective, verified by doctors and safeguarding experts, and has a direct line into the biggest concerns facing teens today – so it’s actually addressing what they need advice on, when they need it.

If you’ve been looking for an antidote to the misinformation and negativity shared on social media or forums, you can get luna for your teen via our luna premium page for the price of a coffee each month or manage their subscription by downloading luna yourself and signing up as a parent (it's "we are luna" in app stores).