- New Secondary Schools Learning Module
#beyourselfie to launch 2023 - Kiwis asked to
ditch social filters during Mental Health Awareness Week
#beyourselfie
Auckland, New Zealand
26 September 2022: To mark Mental Health Awareness
Week, (MHAW) Netsafe has announced a partnership with global
movement Bodyright.me, to raise awareness of the link
between online misrepresentation of the human body via
unethical retouching, body dysmorphia, and mental
health.
As part of the partnership, which aims to
combat unethical retouching, Netsafe and Bodyright.me will
launch a Learning Management System module called
#beyourselfie into New Zealand secondary schools in early
2023, raising awareness of the need for body positivity and
mental health online.
Kiwis are also being asked to
share unfiltered images of themselves online during MHAW
using the hashtag #beyourselfie.
The partnership comes
at a time when 33%
of New Zealand teens spend four or more hours online in an
average day, and four in 10 currently use five or more
social media platforms.
While social media is an
effective way to connect and share information, it can also
be harmful to mental health, and a
recent study has shown teenagers who spend more than three
hours a day on social media are more likely to develop
mental health problems including depression, anxiety,
aggression, and antisocial behaviour.
Bodyright.me
spokesperson and psychologist Sara Chatwin says, “We’re
seeing an increase in people battling self-esteem issues
with unrelenting exposure to these altered social media
images linked to mental health issues, eating disorders and
body dysmorphia.”
“Young people don’t go a day
without being exposed to this kind of stuff and are heavily
influenced by it. They have access to filtered images from
an early age, and their perceptions are shaped by the
material they see. Sharing retouched, filtered images of
yourself doesn’t help your mental health, but normalising
real bodies and celebrating yourself as you truly are does.
Bodyright.me is a movement to end unethical re-touching and
help people reclaim their bodies as they truly
are.”
The use of filters and online editing is
widespread, with 90% of young women reporting they use a
filter or edit their photos before posting, and 32% of
teenage girls saying when they felt bad about their bodies –
Instagram made them feel even worse.
Brent Carey,
Netsafe CEO says, “We’re focussed on finding ways to
support safe and positive online experiences that support
mental health and partnering with Bodyright.me to spread an
educational message about body positivity online and in
secondary schools with #beyourselfie is a great way to do
this.”
“Our research shows that digital parenting
tends to become less prevalent as children become older, 75%
of 9-11-year-olds aren’t allowed to visit social
networking sites compared to 34% of 12-14 and just 4% of
15-17-year-olds. Ideally, parents of older children should
remain involved in their kids’ engagement with an
increasingly filtered and artificial digital environment as
they navigate a series of challenging developmental changes
like identity formation.”
This year’s MHAW theme is
Reconnect – with the people and places that lift you up, hei
pikinga waiora. To celebrate this theme Netsafe and
Bodyright.me are asking Kiwis to reconnect authentically by
showing their friends and whanau they are proud of how they
look without filters by posting unfiltered images of
themselves using the hashtag #beyourselfie.
The
Netsafe and bodyright.me Secondary Schools #beyourselfie
Learning Module will roll out across secondary schools
nationwide from February 2023 onwards.
About
Bodyright.me
Recognised as a Fast Company
global innovation, Bodyright.me is a New Zealand founded
global movement to end unethical retouching, filters, and
the misrepresentation of the human body. It is like a
copyright for the human body and works in a similar way.
When brands, influencers and individuals use the
Bodyright.me symbol they are indicating the image is
their own and that it is unfiltered and untouched. The
can be added to the image or included in the accompanying
copy, and is available for download at Bodyright.me
Bodyright.me
challenges all businesses and brands to join the fight
against unethical retouching and filters by committing to
their own unethical re-touching policy and using the
symbol to demonstrate the unfiltered authenticity of their
imagery. Tag @bodyright.me on Instagram or
TikTok.
About Netsafe
Netsafe
is an independent non-profit organisation with the purpose
of supporting people in Aotearoa to create safe and positive
online spaces, by providing free support, advice, and
education to all ages.
Visit netsafe.org.nz for
helpful resources and guidance. If you require online safety
assistance or wish to report an incident of online harm,
please call toll-free on 0508 NETSAFE (0508 638 723) seven
days a week to speak with one of our
team.
© Scoop Media
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