Todd NesnickPresented by BetterHelp.
We’re learning more every day about what it takes to protect our mental health – from the food we eat and the quality of sleep we get to how much we exercise and how much media we consume, our choices have great power to help or hinder our overall sense of well-being. Your use of social media, in fact, can be one of the most powerful influences over your mental health, so it makes sense to be thoughtful and intentional about how you use these seemingly ubiquitous tools.
Dangers of Social Media to Your Mental Health
One of the key dangers of social media is simply over-stimulation. Scrolling through social media for hours each day adds up to a lot of unhealthy screen time, which can cause us to disconnect from our real lives and relationships. In addition, social media feeds our habit of comparing ourselves to others – which can be a dangerous road to go down. Comparison often leads to feelings of inadequacy or failure and can exacerbate our insecurities. And, finally, social media brings with it the dangers of cyber-bullying, allowing anonymous users to rebel against social norms by intentionally delivering cruelty and abuse. Social media represents a world where big feelings have an outlet that can be unhealthy for everyone involved.
Five Best Practices to Protect Your Mental Health
Here are a few ways you can set some healthy boundaries around social media:
Set Time Limits – If you want to have a healthy relationship with social media, time limits is a great place to start. You might shoot for a total time limit for the entire day, or you may designate particular times of the day when you allow yourself to scroll through social media. It may help to first audit the average time you’re spending on social media, and then set a clear goal for how you’d like to adjust that timeframe. The important thing here is to make sure you’re obeying the limits you set for yourself. You might need to set a reminder or even an alarm on your phone to let you know when your time is up. An important practice is making sure to stay off social media for roughly an hour before you go to bed.
Control Your Privacy – It’s easy to overlook your privacy settings, but having clear boundaries around who you invite into your social media engagement is another key way to guard your mental health. And it should go without saying that this is even more important in households where small children and teenagers live. Making sure that only people you trust can engage with you and/or your children online can help protect against all manner of mental health concerns, including bullying and predatory behavior.
Use the Unfollow Button – Pay attention to your response to the content you’re seeing on social media. And no matter your personal relationship with someone, don’t be afraid to unfollow them if they’re sharing content that you find offensive or upsetting – or that causes you to feel inadequate, anxious or depressed. You’re in complete control of the content that comes through your social media feed.
Prioritize Self Care – Many people find success by making the choice to forego social media any time they already feel anxious, stressed, depressed or otherwise upset. In these cases, you can opt for several other activities instead of social media – you can take a walk, talk with a friend, read a book, practice yoga, meditate, go for a massage or manicure, or countless other small acts of self-care that will build up, rather than degrade, your mental health. For some people, turning away from social media and toward talk therapy, including online therapy, with a trusted counselor, can be a powerful way to support their mental health.
Conclusion
Social media is a powerful tool that has the potential for both great good and great harm. It’s up to each of us to be intentional about how we invite this tool into our lives and how we put healthy parameters around it. If you’ll follow the suggestions presented here, there’s no reason that social media can’t be a healthy part of your life. These habits will help protect your overall well-being, and taking action to support your own health is also a powerful way to control your own life.