Social Media & Mental Peace: How Are They Connected?

Our day begins with scrolling down the online feeds and ends with a goodnight message from our dear ones on social media. Since its inception in the early 2000s, social media has played a pivotal role in shaping the modern lifestyle. The most prominent social media platform, Facebook, has a whopping 2.9 billion users. Other platforms like WhatsApp and YouTube account for over 1 billion users.

It is indeed a blessing for the current generation. We can access data from around the world and interact with people living overseas audibly and visually. Whether it is our wish to grow a business, gather information or even have fun time engaging in different kinds of live online casino options, we have everything in our fingertips.

Is Social Media Connecting the World?

As the name suggests, social media has distinctive features to pierce through different classes and communities of the society. The positive impacts of these platforms are endlessly embracing our lives. Gone are those days when you talked with loved ones over a phone call for a short period. Each moment, constant interactions with our own people via social media have strengthened and enhanced our relationships. Strangers with shared passion become friends over social media by overcoming and removing geographical boundaries. People have discovered things on social media that they would not do otherwise. We have access to an infinite source of knowledge, thanks to these digital platforms. Then where do the problems lie? 

Social Media and Mental Health 

The overwhelming presence of virtual media has its own set of problems. Social media is a relatively newer technology which is adopting our habits faster than we are evolving. Virtual media can never replace real-world human connections. Even in a group of people, our eyes are stuck to the screen, constantly surfing through the vicious cycle of algorithms. The requirements of in-person connection to trigger the hormonal flow that dulls the stress and makes you feel happier and livelier, has gone. It’s a pity that the technology invented to socialize people has taken a toll on our social lives. Excessive social media usage can provoke depression, isolation, anxiety and FOMO.

Modern Dilemma 

The research on the long-term term consequences of social media is inadequate. However, several symptoms have been found to be linked with heavy internet consumption. Most of the images on these platforms are manipulated, the fractional truth of others’ lives. Still, a sense of insecurity, envy and dissatisfaction builds in our minds looking at others’ joyful lives. The constant fear of being left out keeps us checking and responding to every event on social media. Several studies have shown that social networks leave you feeling alone and isolated from reality. The more you spend time on social media, the more you are prone to mood disorders, anxiety and depression. On another aspect, the range of uncensored contents and comments expose us to hatred, untrue facts and cyberbullying. Though in specific ways, social media can be countered with promising practices. So, how can we avoid its adverse effects on our mental health?

Five Ways to Limit Social Media Usage

1. Keep the apps out of your site that you are most addicted to. Turn off the notification for the same. 
2. Use apps to limit internet usage for a particular social media app. 
3. Indulge yourself in exploring the neighborhoods and rediscover your hobbies. Invest an hour with your passion daily.
4. Keep your phone distant at the dinner table. Enjoy food with your friends and family. Make physical connections.
5. Leave the phone outside the bedroom. Do not spend time on the internet before your much-needed eyes shut. 

A Leap towards a Healthy Life

The technology usage method determines if we are utilising it or enslaved by it. We cannot defy social networking sites but can take command of it. Socializing, in reality, will lead a person to have a better mental health and a balanced lifestyle. Eventually, life without social media will guide you to discipline and self-reliance. Take a break and give it a try.