The social media has been a ground breaking success in connecting people across great distances around the world and helping us catch up with friends and people we’d lost touch with over the years. However, the nature of use of social media has changed since its inception. Research has found that excessive use of social media has a lot of negative effects, including severe mental health conditions, like addiction. Social media has become a source of entertainment as well a way to escape the reality, giving the same kind of dopamine high to people, like any other addictive substance. Naturally, the other symptoms of addiction follow – social withdrawal, dependency, negative thoughts, anxiety, low mood, and so on.
Social media has become an important part of our
everyday lives. Thus, it is very difficult to reduce or regulate the usage of
social media, even if we realize the negative impact it is causing in our
lives. However, it is not impossible. There are a few ways through which we can
regulate the usage of social media in a way through which we can reap the
benefits, without letting it harm our mental health, which are as follows:
1. Keep track of time spent online.
2. Be mindful of the use and set aside time to spend on social media, instead of
using it along with other tasks.
3. Disable notifications and/or remove it from the device used most, and use it
through the website or computer, in the designated time.
4. Take regular pre-planned breaks from social media.
5. Do not take the phone to bed.
6. Engage in hobbies and other interests in free time, offline.
Social media can act as an escape and a relief from the stressors we have to face on a daily basis. However, due to repeated usage, it causes dependency in the long run without our awareness. It creates a cycle wherein we use to reduce our stress, but it causes additional stress in the form of comparisons and FOMO. Thus, taking a break from it, and involving in real life social interactions can help boost psychological wellbeing, as it provides us with a way to break free from this cycle. It might be difficult at first, but with consistent and mindful practice, we can use it to the fullest to our benefit, while also keeping our minds safe and sound.
Reference
Coyne, S. M., Rogers, A. A., Zurcher, J. D., Stockdale, L., &
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Help guide. (n.d.). Social media and mental health. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm
Kırcaburun, K., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018). Problematic Instagram
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Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 17(4), 909–921. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9895-7
Schønning, V., Hjetland, G. J., Aarø, L. E., & Skogen, J. C.
(2020). Social Media Use and Mental Health and Well-Being Among Adolescents – A
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Walton, A. G. (2021, December 10). 6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/?sh=154207b62e5a
