IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING FOR YOU OR AGAINST YOU?
Let’s address the elephant in the room. The topic of this post is how too much social media consumption is damaging to mental health, AND I am posting about this on social media. I’m not saying social media is all bad. It is a powerful tool, and when used in moderation, can help bring people together, and offer networking opportunities. However, without being mindful of how you are engaging with it, it can quickly become addictive, and a source of negative self-esteem and depression. But don’t despair, at the end of this post I share some tips on how to set boundaries and reclaim the energy that overconsumption of social media drains from you.
In our culture of forced positivity (cue the phrase “good vibes only”), it is no wonder that even with the most innocent of intentions (like catching up on the updates of your network, or looking for a job), exposing yourself to social media for too long can lead to feelings of envy, low self-worth or depression. An example of this reaction can look something like this: you log on, you are immediately presented with your news feed full of posts about how amazing other people’s lives are, you feel an instantaneous pang of envy and a drop in self-esteem, and then perhaps you wallow in your newly-developed depression by continuing to scroll, or try to overcompensate by posting something equally “amazing” and enviable. And so the cycle continues.
Embedded in the fabric of social networking sites are two powerful triggers responsible for this attack on our mental health: social comparison and doomscrolling.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” - Theodore Roosevelt
Social comparison on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn is virtually impossible to avoid. Whether you are scrolling out of boredom or for job networking purposes, your news feed can become a minefield of triggering comparisons to other people’s self-promoted accomplishments and enviable life events, and in the space of an hour you can feel significantly worse than you did previous to logging on.
Feelings of failure and inadequacy come quick, especially when our saboteurs delight in and feed off the social comparison. The envy we feel turns into self-criticism about how we should be doing better than we are. And the FOMO (fear of missing out) that is triggered by seeing people doing fun things without us fuels our inner victim voice. It's a self-fulfilling negative feedback loop. And that doesn’t even account for the barrage of scary news, or fake news found on social media.
The Allure of Bad News
News stories are now mostly consumed online and often through social media, which has given rise to the phenomenon of “doomscrolling.” Doomscrolling is a term coined in recent years and is the “act of consuming a large quantity of negative online news at once.” [wikipedia] Humans have a negativity bias, which means we focus on negative information more than positive information. Evolutionarily speaking we have evolved from ancestors who lived longer because they were more likely to notice potential threats to their safety. Without mindful awareness of what we are consuming, news outlets can easily take advantage of the negativity bias, and the constant availability of sensationalized news means we can quickly become oversaturated, leading to feelings of fear, worry and defeat.
Why this matters
Social media is designed to be addictive. Just as we over consume negative news, our brains also respond to social media attention. The retweets, likes and shares we receive when self-disclosing online feed the reward centers of our brains, releasing dopamine and giving us a jolt of pleasure. This keeps us coming back for more, leading to more and more exposure to the potential of social comparison and doomscrolling. With Covid-19, political and racial upheavals, and the rise in unemployment, our mental health is more vulnerable than ever in the face of social media. Think about it this way, if your immune system is already fighting a cold or flu, would you choose to only eat junk food and stay up all night making yourself even sicker? Choosing what you allow into your psyche is like making healthy eating choices, getting regular exercise and a good night’s sleep. Why would you treat your mental health differently than your physical health?
Here are 3 tips to try right now to take better care of your mental health.
Remove social media apps from your phone.
We are on our phones A LOT. So the easiest way to not even tempt yourself is to get rid of the instant access to social media via the apps on your phone. If that is too strict for you, you can edit your settings to turn off notifications and move the apps into a folder on the last page of your app screens.
Set a timer.
Setting a timer for 30 minutes per day of social media engagement will keep you within the time limit that researchers have found is not related to adverse mental health. Alternatively you can easily use an app to set limits for you.
Curate your news feed.
Just because you are on social media doesn’t automatically mean you have to subject yourself to triggering content. News flash: YOU get to choose what you look at and who you follow! Do some real self-care and put up some boundaries. In fact, take the time right now to go through each site and unfollow anyone or anything that makes you feel even a hint of negativity. Then start following people who inspire you and make you feel better about yourself!
It's always your choice what you consume. Noticing when you feel a little depressed after perusing your social media feeds is the first step in making these behavioral changes. The next step is creating healthy boundaries for yourself.
SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF:
Is my relationship to social media healthy? Does my social media interaction reflect my values? At the end of the day, has the time I spent on screens helped me improve myself?
If you have read this far, I encourage you to put your phone or laptop away and go for a walk, call a friend, or read a book. Your mind, heart and body will thank you. And remember, with everything going on in the world today it's more important than ever to prioritize your mental and emotional health.