How to Improve Your Mental Health With Frequent Social Media Use
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| Image courtesy of DividedWeFall.org |
We all fall into the rabbit hole of never-ending scrolling on social media. We like people's posts, share posts with other people, and we even post photos ourselves.Doing something so simple can actually cause a lot of unneeded stress and anxiety. Who would have thought that social media would negatively affect mental health?
According to Chelsea Alves an expert in social media marketing for Search Engine Journal, A survey taken in 2022 by the Morning Consult collected that 54% of Gen Zers said they spend at least four hours a day using social media. The survey found that an additional 38% of Gen Zers spend more than four hours on social media daily.
Why does spending so much time on social media cause strain on our mental health?
Emily Hemendinger at DCReport shared that images people see on social media lead to mental illnesses. Eating disorders are a complex mental illness.
Other problems stem from social media such as self-esteem issues. We constantly see unrealistic photos that we want to compare ourselves to. It could be how someone's body looks or how much money someone has.
How can people improve their mental health with daily use of social media?
- Turn off notifications for social media. By turning off the notifications, there will not be a constant need to check the apps. This is a great way to help you focus on being present and will allow you to spend more time doing things you enjoy that could benefit your mental health.
- Set time limits for each app. Setting app time limits is another great way to help your mental health. Reminding yourself that using social media for an extended period can become mentally draining.
- Spend time with friends away from phones. Make plans to get together with friends. Suggest that the hang out be without using your phones. Try board games, playing basketball, or riding your bike. These are great ways to spend time with people without checking any social media notifications.
- Create a social media schedule. What do you plan to do with your day? Instead of waking up and going to your phone to check your social media notifications, try participating in mindfulness. Take time to start your day on a positive note instead of starting your day by staring at negative news on social media apps.
Hey Kristen,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this weeks blog because this is very true problem in today's society. Lots of people spend so much time on social media and that can create poor mental health issues along the way. Some people try to perceive as a different person on social media then they actually are in person. People also can get into a bad habit of comparing themselves to other people - which can be very unhealthy. I agree that turning off notification, setting time limits, and spending time with friends away from your phones are a great and useful to better people's mental health. Mental health is very important but also very challenging because people express their "hurt" in many different ways. Overall this was very educational to me. Good work!
Kristen, I really liked your post. I think it true, as small as social media may seem it does play a big part in the mental health of everyone. I agree with your first point of turning of notifications for social media. I think that could really deter someone from looking at their social media as often.
ReplyDelete