"To reach a port, we must sail – sail, not tie at anchor – sail, not drift."
–Franklin Roosevelt

Oversharing on social media and mental health
We all know ‘those’ people. They may be in our family. They may be in our circle of friends. I’m talking about the ones who overshare on social media. You know, give you the minute-by-minute detail of their lives and those who post endless selfies. Social media is a place to engage with each other and have fun – share memories, share good times and bad, share experiences. Not share everything short of when you use the restroom. Oversharing on social media has become a problem. People are using platforms as their online diaries, broadcasting their personal grievances and details of their children’s lives for the entire world to see. This oversharing has negative effects on our mental health. FOMO (fear of missing out) has a big effect on oversharing and often a bigger detrimental effect on mental health, it can often lead to extreme dissatisfaction. If you don’t receive the ‘appropriate’ amount of likes and comments users may internalise the belief that they are unpopular or unliked by their peers. The need for validation by others can cause you to share unfavourable or ‘attention-seeking’ posts to gain the attention you aren’t receiving otherwise. Many mental health conditions such as bipolar, depression, or anxiety can also cause oversharing. It can be a way to self gratify when you get attention from like-minded people who encourage you to relish in unhealthy behaviours. If you aren’t receiving validation from those around you about your mental health, you can often turn to the internet to supplement this. But how can one stop oversharing? Figuring out the time and place to overshare, and understanding its effects on your mental health can be a useful activity, but the first step is learning when you overshare and how you can reel it in.
Javeria Zia,
Karachi.

Students should take full advantage of technology
Digital era has opened several avenues for growth for everyone. It is up to a person how they took full advantage of it. We are lucky to have a plethora of electronic devices and gadgets at our disposal but unfortunately most of the time it has been misused.

The youth, mainly, are clueless as to how they can use technology for the welfare of society. Most of the time electronic devices have been used to kill the time. Youngsters play games, listen music or involve in other unhealthy activities but hardly anyone of them uses it for educational purposes.

There are tons of tutorial available online that can make the process of learning easier for students.

Technology can allow students to learn through direct instruction, video streaming, podcasting, project-based learning, adaptive algorithm-based software, and more.

The timing and quality of learning feedback are critical for growth to happen. Students can also make choices about what types of activities they want to use and therefore are more empowered in their learning and can self-direct. If you give some of the control and leave the decision-making to students to choose how to show what they have learned, or let them design their own homework assignment, they have the chance to be more empowered and build momentum that can endure after the unit is over.
Shamim Ahmed,
Mianwali