A young Lanarkshire politician, who became hooked on social media in her early teens, is championing a trailblazing campaign to help Scotland’s children and young people manage their post-lockdown screen time.
Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw, Wiktoria Orlicka, has worked closely on the design of Mind Yer Time – the world’s first digital resource to teach children and young people about healthy use of screens and social media.
It is a subject that’s close to the heart of Poland-born Wiktoria, who found it difficult to integrate when she moved to Scotland at the age of eight.
Struggling with her mental health and feelings of isolation, she sought solace in creative writing and began posting her stories online at the age of 14.
Her online engagement went from being a distraction, to a habit and latterly an addiction that would see her lying awake until 4am, monitoring activity and comments on her phone.
“There was a time back in 2015 when I struggled with a lot of mental health issues,” explained Wiktoria.
“I struggled to find friends in high school. When I was told I could write stories online, I used it all the time, and I found I could use it to chat to people, too.
“There was a time I would stay up until 3 or 4am, just looking at notifications that were coming in on my phone, people messaging me and me messaging them back.
"I’d speak to other young people from across the world. Even if it was just a random notification, I’d still need to check it for fear of missing out on something. I wanted to be noticed on social media. I didn’t want to go to school, I didn’t feel happy there. I wanted to stay in the house and stay online,”
Having to get up at 7am for school, the late nights spent chatting to young people in the USA who were, unlike her, in a sensible time zone, began to take their toll on her attendance rate.
Not until she met a "real" friend she could talk to face to face without the guise of a screen was Wiktoria able to break free of the hold social media had on her.
“When I met a friend in real life, I really wanted to go to school every day to get to know them,” explained the former St Aidan’s High School pupil.
Striking up a friendship that led to other introductions was a turning point for Wiktoria, who was elected member of the Scottish Youth Parliament in a 2018 by-election, and was re-elected to represent Motherwell and Wishaw in March 2019.
When the opportunity arose to play an integral role in the development of Mind Yer Time, Wiktoria jumped at the chance to help other young people to use their screen time positively.
Designed by children and young people from the Children’s Parliament and the Scottish Youth Parliament, the digital resource has been created to support everyone who loves social media and screen time, with positive tips, stories and information to help them use their screen time in ways that protect their health and wellbeing.
Twenty-year-old Wiktoria was appointed one of the Scottish Youth Parliament’s ‘Screen Savers,’ who were charged with designing a national survey of the views, experiences and ideas of Scotland’s young people with a view to creating a website they’d want to use.
Its engaging, illustrated content includes videos, playlists and quizzes, as well as advice to help young people navigate socialising, learning, taking a break from screens, improving sleep – and having fun online.
The resource also explores hard-hitting issues such as body image, anxiety, online bullying and other critical aspects of health and wellbeing for which children and young people might struggle to access support online.
In response to the challenges they have faced this year, additional content on learning at home, addressing screen time guilt and navigating video chats have been added to the resource with help from Screen Savers like Wiktoria, and fellow MSYP Crisantos Bonaba Ike, of Rutherglen.
Their involvement in the project was driven by a desire to initiate change in how social media and screen use is viewed. While recognising its importance in the lives of children and young people, they are keen to emphasise that striking a balance in how it is used is equally important.
Said MSYP for Rutherglen, Crisantos: “Since I got involved in the Screen Savers team, I found that I could spend my time doing more things and taking a more balanced approach to using screens – spending less time on social media so as to have more time to study and time to myself and my family.”
Wiktoria is appealing to children and young people who feel overwhelmed to turn to the refreshing Mind Yer Time resource for empowering stories and advice from others who know what they’re going through.
“I am part of the generation that uses technology on a daily basis and I was also a victim of the addiction it brings, and sleepless nights that come with it, sometimes,” she said.
“I wanted to help other young people who struggle with this, and help create something, as I know that social media makes a huge impact on young people, both positive and negative. I always remember looking down on myself as I compared myself to other people and I wanted to make sure that young people are no longer impacted by this, by creating something that could help.”
Access the resource at MindYerTime.scot
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