We’ll be looking at what roles social media plays when it comes to your mental health.
Hello,
Social media has been revolutionary in the way we interact with the world around us. It connects us with friends, family, and strangers from around the globe, gives us access to new topics and insights, and is a hub for people to share anything and everything they experience.
Whether you’re a casual Facebook scroller, a daily Instagram user, or a dedicated TikToker, social media plays a role in most of our lives.
However, this role can be both positive and negative. While it gives us more opportunities to connect with others, it also creates an environment where negative behaviours like comparison and overconsumption are innate. You may catch yourself looking at someone else's posts and aspire to have their lifestyle, and you also might find yourself opening social media compulsively (without making the conscious decision to do so).
These negative behaviours can be problematic for a number of reasons. Firstly, social media can blind us to the truth. Very few people are posting their actual day-to-day life, and even fewer people are posting their bad moments. Social media has given everyone an opportunity to create a highlight reel, which can skew your reality and create a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out).
Secondly, it is very easy to over-consume social media and spend hours and hours a day scrolling through your feeds. This can further skew reality and can also have a negative impact on self esteem, productivity, and sleep. Not only that, but too much scrolling has been proven to worsen mental health issues like anxiety and depression on some occasions.
This isn’t to say that you should delete your social media, as it does have its positives. You can more easily connect with others, learn new things from educational and insightful content, and even discover new hobbies or topics you would have never known about otherwise, which can all provide value to your life.
The key to a healthier relationship with social media is creating boundaries with your consumption, like cutting down your screen time and consuming content that makes you feel uplifted rather than tears you down.
Today, we’ll look at the impact social media has on our brains, how to use it efficiently, and ways you can change your habits.
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