In the technological era that we live in, all of us are regularly exposed to social media. It is very unlikely that in today’s age we don’t have access to social media accounts. Right from teenager to senior citizens all have social media accounts. Social media platforms have made is extremely easy for all of us to stay connected with each other and have access to everyone’s lives. While we enjoy staying in touch with everyone, it comes with various pros and cons.
Social media plays a huge role in the way we think, feel and behave when we are exposed to similar kinds of information over a period of time. Social Media not only helps us to explore our creative side but also helps us to gain more knowledge and information on various topics. It helps us to promote important causes that require more awareness and attention of people.
Man is a social being after all which means that having connections even if it is over social media platforms can help cope with stress and self worth. It provides us with a sense of comfort and joy while dealing with feelings of isolation and anxiousness when handled in a balanced manner. The likes, shares and views on these platforms can promote our feelings of excitement giving us a sense of reward and accomplishment boosting our self-esteem. It also helps us to preserve our relationships with friends and extended family, which wouldn’t have taken place without social media.
Social media has been an excellent tool to promote small time business and expanding them in a short span of time. It can also provide a space for emotional support when people feel isolated and lonely.
However, when social media is not used with a positive intention and in a balanced manner it can cultivate high bouts of negativity, which thereby affects the way we think, feel and behave. There appears to be a heightened level of bullying and trolling that occurs over social media, which can drag our self-esteem and self worth down.
When you are already going through a difficult time, it is very natural to be ravished with the illusions that people create over social media of a happy, glorious and a beautiful life leaving us with feelings of unworthiness and resentment which further contribute to feelings of envy and jealousy. It also programs our minds to constantly compare our lives in comparison to the lives that are showcased over social media that may not even be real. Our social media can truly create a façade that is not real, however most of us end up believing it like it is making us feel inadequate about our own life. This intrinsically makes us loose the motivation to try harder to achieving our goals of life.
Various researches now support the idea that social media can be highly addictive and can leave us with withdrawal symptoms like in the case of other addictions. The concept of social media scrolling is gaining more and more popularity lately wherein individuals find themselves constant scrolling their feeds and different apps for hours even without realizing the same. This can in turn increase feeling of anxiousness, sleeplessness, irritatability, bring distracted and can have detrimental effect of our mental health.
To conclude, anything that is done in moderation is healthy. Finding the right amount of balance between the real and online world is important. Heavy use of social media can also be masking various underlying issues. It is okay to seek professional help when required.
Tips to handle social media
Monitor the amount of time spent on social media
Turn off constant notification from apps
Unfollow accounts that are bad for your mental health
Contribute and respond in positive manner on social media
Spend more time in the real world rebuilding real connections
Give yourself permission to unplug and take breaks from social media
Cultivate different hobbies
View content that will only help you grow
Delete apps that you no longer use
Consider going for a digital detox
