How to Create a Healthy Relationship with Social Media
Social media is becoming increasingly popular, and is on the rise. It can be really difficult not to get carried away by the trends at the moment, compare yourself and your life to others’, and create these unrealistic standards that you expect yourself and others to follow that social media encourages.
All these social media platforms whether it is Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc., they are all meant to be addictive and can oftentimes, have people developing unhealthy and even harmful relationships with them because of their ability to cause comparisons, superficiality, and other problems too. It has been proven to be extremely addictive with a phenomenon known as “doom scrolling” which proves how hard it can be to get off social media. It causes an imbalance in peoples’ mindsets and can even impact their mental health.
Some of the most significant factors that play a role in the development of unhealthy relationships with social media include comparing yourself to others, not knowing when to stop, and having this false but subconscious belief that what you do online is somehow less real than what happens in-person. All of these actions/thoughts can have negative effects on a person and how they deal with social media and it is important to learn how to stop them so we can get past addiction and unhealthy thoughts, and find a way to balance social media.
To battle addiction, various things can be done. This includes setting a timer to ensure that you take breaks and don’t get caught in the cycle of doom scrolling without an end in sight. Sometimes, setting some sort of reminder after ten or fifteen minutes can give you a new sense of awareness and help you break out of a loop. While a simple action, it can be very effective and go a long way.
Implementing a “detox” where you cut off social media for a certain amount of time every now and then repeatedly can help with detachment and slowly losing a “need” for these platforms. For instance, setting one day or week a month to get off social media and having someone or something hold you accountable can do wonders for your mental health and can balance your relationship out with social media.
Sometimes, looking for healthy alternatives to getting on social media prior to getting caught in an addictive cycle can help avoid problems. This could include maybe spending time at a hobby, researching something interesting, or maybe even getting off the screens completely. It can help to do this at times because little by little, you work to reduce your time on platforms such as Instagram or TikTok.
However, addiction and time spent on social media is only one part of your relationship. If you truly want to cultivate a healthy relationship with these platforms, the content you watch and how you let it impact you is also important to consider.
These platforms have built-in algorithms meant to show you content based on what you have previously liked and watched; that is part of what makes it addictive. However, one simple strategy is being intentional in what you click on and watch. Choosing your feed to be more interesting and positive can help you change your mindset into something more encouraging and happy.
In addition, simply being aware of how social media makes you feel can help regulate your relationship with these platforms and how you feel. For example, if you find yourself spending an abundance of time on Instagram, understanding why you do that and what exactly is encouraging you to do that can help ensure that you are aware of your actions, which can lead to a healthy relationship. Also, comprehend and analyze your emotions after being on social media. If you find yourself feeling drained, depressed, inferior, etc., maybe evaluate the content you are looking at or look deeper into the causes of your emotions. This can help you build a relationship with social media that is healthy and not harmful in any sense to your mental health.
To sum it up, while it can be extremely hard at first to build a healthy relationship with social media, it will have a number of advantages and benefit you in the long run. It can help you with your self-awareness, improve your mental health, and allow you to spend more time doing other things and living your life the way it was meant to be.
Comentarios