Do you remember what a usual Sunday was like when you were a kid? For me, it was all about finally watching the movie I waited for the whole week on T.V. while having dinner with my family. The morning would start relatively later after a week of school and instead of rushing to catch the van, I would slowly brush my teeth to the songs on the radio. I would then look at the Entertainment Section of the Sunday Special newspaper to check if my favourite artists have appeared. Fast forward to today, every movie and show is out there on the internet, easily accessible to everyone with a secure connection. The news, the whereabouts, everything about our favourite artists is now in the palm of our hands, just a single search away. But is this blurred line between our own lives and the lives of other people always benefitting?
How indulging excessively in social media affects our Mental Health
According to the data released by the Pew Research Centre, social media apps like Instagram and Snapchat have now become a part of their daily routine for users. The average time a person spends on social media exceeds 2.5 hours a day. American Writer Rodger Kamenetz once said, “The other day, lying in bed, I felt my heart beating for the first time in a long while. I realized how little I live in my body, and how much in my mind.” In the modern age of social media, this gets further modified into one living not in their mind but on the internet, being invested in people’s lives and comparing their own with the ones seen on the internet.
Many people have admitted that being active social media users, they feel pressure to keep their accounts updated with new pictures of trips and experiences. Taking a walk in the garden as a kid was to observe the nature around us and dream of being transported into the Secret Fairy Garden we had seen in the movies. Today, a walk in the garden means having pictures with the right aesthetics to post on Instagram. Social media has helped connect the whole world but it has also increased loneliness among people. People spend more time on their social media accounts than they do with their thoughts and their loved ones.
The Addiction Centre data calls social media addiction a behavioural addiction, driven by an uncontrollable urge to open one’s social media accounts to scroll through them. Studies also show that mindlessly scrolling through social media, popularly termed doomscrolling, can be a sign of depression. Moreover, young teens face mental problems regarding their appearance and body image as they start comparing themselves to picture-perfect people online. This can lead to insecurities, low self-esteem, and depression in the users. Research done by the Technical University of Denmark reveals that short-duration videos like Instagram Reels, Tik-Toks, and YouTube Shorts have led to a decrease in people’s attention spans and concentration levels in recent years.
Solutions
• Turning off the notifications: Constant notifications feed our urge to keep opening these apps from time to time between our chores. Turning them off is one way to keep that distraction away. Opening the app in your free time and looking at the notifications at once saves a lot of time.
• Limiting screen time: Decide the amount of time you should be on the social media apps and put a limit on it. Once you exceed the time, the app does not let you open it for the rest of the day. This also helps keep track of your time on the phone throughout the day.
• Delete the apps from your phone: Instead of using social media on the mobile apps try switching to Internet Browsers like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. This way they will have lesser features and be a little slower leading to lesser dopamine release, helping you further to stay away from them.
• Trying out new hobbies: Pick up a new hobby, be it painting, gardening, playing a new sport, or anything else. Indulge yourself in this activity in your free time and keep your mobile phones away.
• Follow good content on social media: While a social media detoxication is always necessary, cutting yourself off completely is not always the solution. There are plenty of accounts and pages on social media that help one stay updated about world affairs, expose one to other people’s opinions, help educate people about different topics, and help connect with great minds. Choose the content that you want to see wisely.
Conclusion
Social media is a beautiful place to connect with old and new friends. It is a place where one can share stories and opinions and impact people both for good and bad. There is knowledge and information, but there is also negativity and hate. The right amount of usage, usage with good intention, and knowing when to step is necessary.