Social Media

There is a fair bit of research and opinion around to suggest that prolonged use of social media can have a detrimental effect on our mental health.

Most of us use it and it can be really beneficial for keeping in touch with friends and family, building businesses and entertainment. However, too much use can be bad for our mental health and perhaps we need to look at using it more responsibly.

What’s the harm?

Social Media can force us into unhealthy checking behaviours. Check we have likes, comments, subscribers. We can’t leave it alone.

Social Media can drag us into a world where we seek the approval and validation of others constantly. We can lose our own sense of self.

Social Media can set up an environment of instant gratification seeking. We want others’ approval NOW. We may lose the ability to focus and wait.

The inability to read body language, tone of voice and facial expression often leads to misinterpretation of meaning. We react when we may not need to.

The lack of face to face contact decreases our normal filters and inhibitions, leading us to say more hurtful things online than we would do in person

We get lulled into an endless, time wasting dreamworld of scrolling when we could be doing something more fulfulling

We become heroes or victims – not a lot inbetween. ‘Look at how amazing I am’ or ‘My whole life is in ruins  because’.

Our online lives often bear no resemblance to our offline lives – and then we compare ourselves to others’ fake perfection.

Consider this..

What is your online presence like? Will what you post now benefit your future self? Or will it come back to haunt you?

If it’s the second one – change.