Social media is or has become an essential aspect of each and every of our life in this digital era. It is one medium that easily allows us to interact with people from all over the world and also to express ourselves in anyway necessary.
Yes the impact can be felt more positively, but then again it's important for us to recognize that although it has a positive effect to our lives today, social media can also affect our lives negatively especially our emotional health.
Probably you didn't know that the online space If not used carefully, it can be harmful and very toxic even with its has many advantages. If you didn't know then allow me to let you in on how it can affect us emotionally. I'll try to examine the connection between social media use and emotional health. Also I'll be stressing a little on both the advantages and disadvantages while also providing you with very useful advice on how to maintain that positive attitude online. But before that let's look at THE GOOD SIDE of social media to our emotional health.
The Good Side:
Social media has in various ways transformed communication and lives by promoting relationships across geographical boundaries. Creating connection and also as a means of generating income to some. With social media we can discover support, inspiration, from like-minded people by joining groups or platforms with similar interests. Emotionally we can vibe positively by engaging with uplifting material, motivational messages, and uplifting stories which can improve our mood and our general mental wellbeing.
We see people using these platforms as a forum for self-expression, enabling them to highlight their abilities, talents, create content and create success stories for themselves.
Let's be realistic here, we won't deny the fact that when we earn likes, comments, and shares from friends somehow we feel validated and appreciated, which can improve our self-esteem. Prove me wrong if you think I am wrong. But from my few research I've noticed that.
Enough of the positive, let me dive to THE BAD SIDE of social media to our emotional health.
The Bad Side:
Do you believe that excessive or unthinking use of social media can be harmful to our emotional health? Comparison, yes, when we compare ourselves to some meticulously cultivated online personas, it might result in feelings of low self-esteem and inadequacy.
There's this unrealistic expectation we can create just by repeated exposure to idealized images and filtered realities. Sometimes all these photoshopped highlight reels can cause us to have these feelings or fear of missing out, which can increase our anxiety and we begin to feel alienated from society.
But how can we balance it in this digital age:
Consume those contents with mindfulness: make yourself aware of how you use social media. Set time restrictions to feel the real world, give offline activities a little priority. Digitally detoxify yourself by disconnecting from social media every now and then to re energize and reconnect with the real world. Even if you're to stay on social media try more mind fulfilling contents.
Curate Your Feed: Be the boss of your social media experience by sticking to accounts that uphold positivism, sincerity, and develop mental health. Steer clear or silence accounts that make you feel bad or encourage unfair comparisons.
Use self-compassion: Keep in mind that social media only represents a small portion of people's life. Accept yourself for who you are, concentrate on your own path, and refrain from comparing yourself to others. Develop a positive relationship with yourself and acknowledge your individual talents.
Genuinely build and engage in healthy friendship, conversation with others. Try to create lasting friendships. Establish connections, offer support to others, and start sincere dialogues through social media. Find communities and organizations that share your interests and principles.
It's important to remember that when you find balance between the actual world and the virtual one you've found the solution in allowing social media to improve rather than control your mental wellbeing.
