The term “Social media” is made up of 2 words. “Social” means sharing information, thoughts, ideas, and knowledge. “Media” refers to the medium of communication in use.
Social media is a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through the building of virtual networks and communities. It is a tool people use to connect with each other. In other words, social media is a collection of applications and other platforms people use to enable them in sharing any kind of information which helps in actively participating in social networking.
As this blog focuses on personal development, would like to throw some insights into the effect social media has on our mental health. Out of the 5 aspects involved in personal development, social media comes under the umbrella of the social aspect. Lack of connecting with people will cause a significant threat to the emotional and mental health of a person.
Human beings are social beings, so every person has an innate longingness to connect and socialize. Each one has the need for companionship at all ages and stages of life. Healthy connections have a huge impact on our mental well-being and happiness. Being with the right network of people will induce a positive approach to life, thrive for success, avoid depression, anxiety, loneliness. Helps in enhancing a stress-free, boosts self-worth, confidence, and peaceful life.
Social media is beneficial in many ways, let me list a few psychological benefits:
Breaks the distance barrier enabling us to connect with family and friends across the globe.
Aids in finding new connections. People with similar interests/aspirations and associate with them.
People residing in remote places utilize and enjoy the benefits of connecting via social media.
Creating awareness, promoting good causes, finding solutions, and enriching themselves.
Availability of various emotional assistance.
However, as we enjoy the benefits of social media it’s of vital importance to also bear in mind the shortfalls. Any kind of social media platform may it be Facebook, Twitter or Instagram can never replace real-person contact. Meeting people boosts one mood quicker reducing stress. It helps in expressing, gaging, comforting, and connecting at a different level. Being with a person triggers happy hormones resulting in a healthier, happier, positive mood.
As a reason of fact technology behind social media is to bond people together. But a consequence of imbalance can result in feeling lonelier and unsatisfied life. Researches prove that spending too much time does have a negative effect. It increases mental health-related issues like anxiety, depression, boredom, inferiority, dissatisfaction, etc.
Now let me list a few psychological drawbacks of social media:
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): This means a person feels that others are having a better life. FOMO has been in existence before as well but sites like Facebook, Instagram, the tweeter have fuelled this feeling even more. A few implications of FOMO are feeling of low Self-worth, self-esteem, complex issues, personality threats. This also results in people getting hooked to the devices, checking the status, being compelled to respond to the notifications, compromising their priorities, sleep & safety.
Being Bullied: Studies show that about 10 percent of the teens report being bullied on social media, while many others suffer the consequences of offensive comments. Cyberbullying acts as a platform for spreading rumors, negative comments, abusive and discouraging comments which lead to low self-morale and emotional scars.
Loneliness/Isolation: Studies show that reducing social media connectivity can reduce the feeling of being left out, feel less isolated, and contribute to the over well-being of a person.
Self-Absorption: May build a strong feeling of self-centeredness. Distancing from real people, the real-world, being constantly connected to social media posting all your thoughts, feelings, photos can develop a sense of unhealthier self-centeredness.
Depression and Anxiety: Prioritizing social media over face-to-face interaction with a person increases the risk of mood disorders.
Let me provide you with a few ways to evaluate your self-indulgence in social media so you can thrive to strike a balance
Neglecting real people around you and accessing social media.
Comparing yourself with others leaving you with a sense of low self-esteem and self-worth.
Measure your success and status with others.
Feeling cyberbullied
Prioritize social media over other work, studies, tasks at hand.
Being distracted or having the urge to check every notification alerts every few minutes.
Having Sleeping disorder – stay awake hooked past your bedtime or accessing first thing in the morning. Both can disrupt sleep.
Being under the pressure to fit in.
Being under compulsion to accept challenges or some risky tasks.
After a brief self-evaluation, in case you find yourself being indulged let’s see what alterations we can incorporate to balance it out.
1. Track your time spent on social media.
Set a time and restrict yourself to check only during that time.
Refrain from mindlessly shuffling from one media to another without focus.
Remove unnecessary notifications.
Avoid keeping your phone within reach especially near the bed, work, or study table.
Install apps to track your time spent on social media and aim at reducing it eventually.
Can also uninstall apps from the device you mostly use and have it installed on devices which isn’t handy.
2. Check your intention before accessing:
Accessing out of habit without a reason, if yes refrain from it.
Substituting to replace a real person.
Check if you’re passively scrolling through the post or killing time unintentionally wasting time.
3. Establish connections with real people:
Be a part of a community/Join a club.
Surround yourself with people of the same wavelength.
Conscious effort choosing to be with people over social media.
Avoid using devices when your face to face with people.
4. Honour your relationships – value every person you come across.
5. Practice Gratitude - being thankful for the roots you stem from, making an effort to reach all those family and friends.
6. Take time for self-reflection and do the necessary adjustments.
7. Being a part of a volunteering team to promote a good cause can also help in being connected with real people and the satisfaction that burst from it is immense.
Therefore, to conclude social media has both pros and cons. As its usage varies from person to person so does the perspective. If we can strike a balance without exploiting our priorities and maintaining our face-to-face connections it would definitely add up to the positive impact.