At seventeen-years-old, I’m constantly checking social media. Between Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and a billion more platforms, my thought process can get a bit wild. How many likes did my last post get? How many followers do I have? What was that they commented? It’s thoughts like these that consume my thought process at times and more often than not, dictate my own self worth. How healthy is social media for us?
Social media is something more and more teens and people in general use every single day. I began using social media at a very young age to keep in contact with distant family members. Of
course, my parents at first monitored who I could have as a friend on Facebook. It’s been an addiction for me ever since and yes, I mean an addiction. It isn’t healthy for anyone to live in a virtual world, which is what almost all of us are living in with COVID-19. Social media isn’t always bad though! There’s the fact that we are able to communicate and stay up to date with family and friends no matter where they are at in the world. We can find new friends and communicate with new people. We can seek emotional support. There’s so many positive things to social media, but often times it’s hard to see the good when there’s so much bad that comes from it.
Now here I am with being a Negative Nancy. Social media seems like a gateway into cyber bullying and so many other negative things. I’ve always hated social media for that fact. I am going to admit that it’s much easier for me to say something rude behind a screen instead of to someone’s face and I feel like that’s why cyberbullying is so much easier. Growing up, I’ve witnessed my fair share. I’ve not only been the bully by saying unfair and cruel things, but been the victim. I’m sure none of the things said on either end, would’ve been said if it wasn’t for us being able to write it out. I began to see social media negatively effecting my mental health around middle school. It was the fact that a text can be misread so easily. You could call someone a mean word, but it could have an entirely different meaning when you use the laughing face emoji or follow it by an LOL. One of the worst trends of social media have to be the anonymous sites you can link to your Snapchat. I thought it’d be fun to do these and it was up until I transferred schools. After that, my sister‘s account was taken over by nasty girls from my old school. I felt awful that my choice resulted in a wave of negativity on her account. At that point, I made the best decision of my life. I blocked every single person from my old school on social media. Of course I kept a few close friends, but had a serious conversation with them about not wanting to know anything negative being said about me. That honestly helped my mental health tremendously. I no longer have to see ridiculous messages, I no longer have unneeded drama in my life, life is great without those toxic people.
Social media also tends to display a vicious cycle in my life as well as many others. Whenever I feel sad, anxious, or even bored I use social media to relieve those emotions. The more I use it, the more FOMO I have (fear of missing out,) then that results in the feelings of dissatisfaction. In return, that makes the symptoms to whatever I’m feeling worse. Then, I began to use it more. Not only does this cycle make my mental health worse, I become so reliant on my phone and social media that I can’t function without it. Every time I hear a ding on my phone, I check it. Every time someone posts something, I have to like it and comment. I also begin to spend more time on social media communicating with my friends than I do in real life. I compare myself to others on social media. I don’t sleep as well. I make my depression and anxiety worse. It’s all because I have no self control at that point.
Now, I’m not saying giving up social media is what you need to do. I post on my blog twice a week, I post on my mental health Instagram daily, I send hundreds of Snapchats and text, I’m just as guilty. It’s just finding a way to stop letting negativity come from social media. If there’s somebody toxic on your social media, BLOCK THEM. I promise, it makes your life so much either. Also, setting boundaries for yourself. If you have an IPhone, set up app time limits to ensure you aren’t spending an excessive amount of time on an app. I may or may not have to do that with Tik Tok. You can also tell yourself to put your phone up at night, even better, plug it in across the room. Shut off your social media notifications!! Not only does it prevent you from checking your phone more, but it also gives you a surprise when you do check your phone.
Instead of social media, set goals for yourself. Tell yourself you’ll meet with a friend or family member every week instead of communicating over the phone. Interact with people! Even if it’s a stranger, social interaction is everything! Find a new hobby! You can exercise, join a new group, the possibilities are endless! Just go outside if that is what makes you feel comfortable!
Social media isn’t always a bad thing, you can communicate with friends and keep up with family! There‘s so much you can do on social media, but it’s learning to find the healthy balance for yourself.