we are doomed Or at least this is the sentiment surrounding climate change and global warming that pervades news and social media. coined wordIt expresses the belief that we are past the point of no return when it comes to addressing the environmental crisis facing the planet.
Education, awareness and action are essential to combat climate change. But the distribution of fear-mongering, categorically inaccurate information that creates a “give up” mentality is utterly counterproductive.
Fatalism affects not only environmental health, but also mental health. This idea has been shown to increase levels of environmental anxiety, especially in children, by a surprising amount. Eco-anxiety ischronic fear of environmental catastropheIn fact, according to a recent study, 45% of young people Countries around the world reported that they believe climate-related concerns are interfering with their daily lives.
There are several factors that put young people at greater risk of experiencing the negative effects of fatalism and environmental anxiety more severely. This may be the result of increased exposure to negative news, and gaps in access to mental health. will have serious consequences for
Anxiety is characterized by uncertainty and feelings of urgency. Of course, climate change is a major challenge facing our society today, but many of the uncertainties and pressing problems that create environmental anxiety can be prevented through interventions in education and media literacy training. Therefore, there is an urgent need to integrate these skills and knowledge into the U.S. elementary and middle school curricula to protect the mental health of millions of young people.
Unlike adults who are can do normally To distinguish between credible and unreliable articles, research shows that, not surprisingly, children low capacity to do so. One way to combat the negative effects of fatalism is to give young people the tools they need to identify reliable sources and information on the Internet.
Furthermore, incorporating general knowledge of the realities of climate change, as well as news and media literacy, into youth curricula can help young people identify credible sources of information and, as a result, reduce environmental anxiety. Your level will drop.
Social media must take responsibility for exposing children to such sources in the first place.Young people don’t always want news. rich platform Instagram, Tik Tok, etc. news find themSuch social media sites include doumism content It’s shocking, gets views, and makes money for the same reason news stories are written in this style. So, more than ever, young people need to be equipped with the resources they need to navigate the digital realm, which can have a negative impact on their mental health.
Youth in the United States face an epidemic of access to mental health care.Currently only about 20% of young people Anyone who needs mental health care has access to it. Improving access to care is arguably important, but mechanisms to prevent and mitigate mental health problems can and should be prioritized as well. Therefore, the introduction of education and media literacy training into public school curricula as a primary prevention approach can help reduce the access gap to mental health care among young people.
However, it should also be noted that not all information on the Internet surrounding climate change and activity is rooted in fatalism.there are activists like wowa Rhodes scholar at the University of Oxford, has dedicated her Tik Tok platform to fighting fatalism and encouraging people to act instead of fear when dealing with climate change. Those fighting climate change provide factual information on social media platforms frequented by young people, as well as greener and more viable ways to participate in community efforts to combat climate change. I’m here.
These quasi-interventions are therefore beneficial and important for both the environment and mental health, but empower young people to identify and engage with this productive information first, to ignore fatalistic content, There is still work to be done to prepare.
This is a challenge because the shocking nature of negative information often overwhelms the work done to overturn it. , a more unified approach to education is warranted to prevent environmental anxiety and to stimulate new generation activism.
The truth is we are not destined.
Elisabeth Jadovich is a student at the Yale School of Public Health.
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