Event Details
I got the unique opportunity to represent our creators community in the exclusive program, ”Stress Free Exams”. This was launched by Meta India in collaboration with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
This event brought together policy makers, parents, teachers and influencers to initiate meaningful discussions about mental health of students. This initiative aimed to help students navigate their exams with greater ease and confidence. The pressure to perform well in exams can take a toll on students leading to anxiety, depression and other issues.
The chairperson of NCPCR, Mr. Priyank Kanoongo joined the event. He told us about the national level initiatives that the government is taking to address exam stress & focus on kids mental well-being.
There was an insightful panel discussion on “The role of parents & educators in supporting students’ deal with exam stress”.
The discussion, moderated by Natasha Jog (Head of Public Policy, Meta) had subject matter experts that included Dr Jitender Nagpal (Senior Psychiatrist, Moolchand), Dr Akhilesh Mishra (CEO, Bluekraft Digital Foundation) & Anupriya Kapur (Influencer & Entrepreneur).
Key takeaways
The idea was to provide students and parents with the tools and resources they need to manage the exam stress.
My key takeaway was talk to your children, have dialogues with them regularly to see what they are going through.
Here are my takeaways from the discussion –
- Encourage dialogues with children & have regular conversations with them.
- Look out for signs of stress & trigger points
- Don’t stigmatise mental health & utilise youth as harbingers of De-stigmatization as we have maximum youth in our country
- Progress as a society & encourage conversations on mental health
- Reach effectively Tier 2/3 cities & villages by creating material in their local language & giving local illustrations that they can relate to.
- Promote excellence of brilliance to uplift the youth economically & not only through exam scores.
- We creators can use our platforms effectively to talk about mental health issues.
- We can collaborate with other creators to spread the message to a wider audience.
- Technology should be a blessing, not cause of mental disorder.
Initiatives from Meta
The Meta team shared insights on steps being taken to use their platforms effectively to positively impact & inspire the youth of today.
It was highlighted by Mr Shivnath Thukral (Director & Head of Public Policy, Meta India) that Meta is completely invested in the safety & well-being of their young users. This is a priority for them & so they have implemented several products, policies, programs and partnerships. They want young users to foster online relationships in a way that they feel safe & feel good about the time spent on the apps.
The Meta team also works closely with experts in mental health, child psychology, digital health & more to build features & tools to connect online, safely & responsibly.
Additionally, they have introduced customized tools on their apps like take a break, night time nudges & quiet mode, especially so young users use their time meaningfully.
Final thoughts
Overall it was an interactive session. We not only heard the experts but also got an opportunity to ask our questions. We also got a chance to connect with several advocates of mental wellbeing & got useful tips from them.
Prime minister Mr Narendra Modi, broke the stigma around such conversations through his initiative Pariksha par charcha. Now its our role as creators to become the carriers to spread this message across our country.