קריאה: תמיד מחוברים

social media — רשתות חברתיות. scroll — לגלול במסך. notification — התראה בטלפון. stay in touch — לשמור על קשר. benefit — יתרון, תועלת. risk — סיכון. stranger — אדם זר. Shabbat — שבת.

Yoav is sixteen and lives in Haifa. Like most teenagers in Israel, he has a mobile phone, and he checks it many times a day. He chats with his friends, shares photos and watches videos that teach him how to play the guitar. "My phone is my window to the world," he says.

Social media has many benefits. Teenagers can stay in touch with friends and family, even when they live far away. Yoav's cousin moved to Canada two years ago, but they still talk almost every day. Social media can also help young people find others who share their interests. Shira, fifteen, from Be'er Sheva, loves drawing. She posts her work online, and artists from other countries give her advice. "I learned more from them than from any book," she says.

However, social media also has risks. Many teenagers spend hours scrolling, and this time often comes from sleep, homework or sport. Some studies show that teenagers who spend many hours a day on social media are more likely to feel anxious or sad. One reason is that people usually post only the best moments of their lives. While your friends seem to be always happy, at the beach or at a party, you are sitting at home on a rainy Tuesday. It is easy to compare yourself to them and feel that your own life is boring.

There are other dangers, too. Photos and messages can stay online for years, so something you post today may be seen by a university or an employer in the future. Also, not everyone online is who they say they are. That is why experts advise teenagers never to share personal information, such as their address, with strangers.

Although Shira loves her online art group, she has made some rules for herself. She turns off her notifications while she does her homework, and she does not use her phone after ten at night. Yoav's family has a different idea: on Shabbat, everyone puts their phone in a box. "At first I hated it," Yoav says. "Now it is my favorite day of the week. We talk more, and I sleep better." Social media is not good or bad in itself. What matters is how we use it.