The Fortis School Mental Health programme, in association with Ryan International Group of Institutions, conducted a pro-social peer moderator programme on media literacy at Ryan schools, Mumbai, along with several interactive workshops on path to success – a study and exam skills initiative across Delhi/NCR.
The pro-social peer moderator programme is based on a peer-to-peer training module involving a group of student moderators along with teacher moderators. Here, students are equipped with necessary life skills. They further train their peers with these skills and coping strategies. The module on media literacy was designed to teach students how to filter information – to differentiate between legitimate and reliable sources of information and entertainment, to learn specific skills of critical viewing and decision making and to follow safe media practices. Whereas, the module on path to success looked at training students with strategies towards smarter goal setting, time management as well as coping mechanisms to bust exam stress effectively.
More than 2000 students representing 20+ Ryan schools across Mumbai and Delhi/NCR participated in these workshops and actively engaged in discussions and activities. As part of the initiative, the online Ryan community was addressed via a Facebook and YouTube Live by Dr Samir Parikh, Director and Dr Kedar Tilwe, Psychiatrist, Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences.
Madam Grace Pinto, Managing Director, Ryan International Group, said, ‘The rise in the usage of social media can have harmful effects on mental health, especially among the budding teenagers who are seen glued to various social media platforms. Growing anxiety, depression, loneliness, and eating disorders are on the rise among youngsters today. Understanding the urgency and the dire need to educate our teenage students, the ‘pro-social peer moderator programme’ was organised by experts from the mental health department of Fortis Healthcare Hospital. At the Ryan Group, we have always ensured to provide the best opportunities for the holistic growth of our young students across all our institutions.’
Dr Parikh, Director — Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Fortis Healthcare, said, ‘The youth consumes an enormous amount of media on any given day. They spend increasing time on different social media platforms. It is important to impart them with the skills to be able to access, understand and critically evaluate the media they get exposure to. Media literacy in these times is one of the most important skills that youth needs to be empowered with.’ He also added ‘Exams are a common source of stress in a student’s life. It’s important that all stakeholders collectively work not only to mitigate the stress, but also to expose children with study and exam skills to support and optimise their performance.’