Social media is a modern tool that connects people and helps us open our hearts and minds; it is a good way to help us innovate, access information, learn, and do business.
However, not using them properly can harm and affect our mental health and our overall well-being.
Social media and mental health
We know for sure that going to YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok or Facebook and spending time without planning makes us feel like we’re failing and losing our week hours, and most of the time we’re going to use other things that matter in our lives.
We are well aware that there are increasing problems caused by social media and there is a lot of research that is showing the negative side of these sites.
One study found that 58% of Americans say social media has a negative impact on their mental health. The first effect of these sites is anxiety at the rate of 64%, followed by depression at the rate of 56%, feeling dissatisfied with life (52%), feeling afraid of being cut (52%), and 51% visual problems.
According to a study conducted by ExpressVPN, about 86% of young people have shown that social media has affected their happiness and at a higher rate, affects their mental health due to their reduced confidence, self-esteem, isolation and extreme grief.
Celebrities like Selena Gomez, Camila Cabello and Ed Sheeran have been taking some time out of the year and taking vacations from these sites in an effort to save their mental health and health in general. In the recent past, Tom Holland announced on Instagram that he is taking a break from ‘social media’ for his mental health.
He said at the time that “I find what is happening and what is being announced on Instagram and Twitter to be extreme. It allows me and takes me a long way when I read the posts on Murandasi that end up hurting my heart and seriously damaging my mental health.”
How to protect your mental health is damaged by social media
There are five issues with these sites that go along with the measures you can take to protect your mental health and the impact it has on it, according to Tracy Kennedy, a developmental specialist who is also a mental health counselor, wrote on the website Lifehack.org
You compare yourself to others
It seems that this is the most common problem caused by social media, yet it reaches the person without knowing it or thinking about it.
You go on social media and sometimes you feel a bit of jealousy caused by what others are doing that you don’t or achieve that you don’t achieve. This has not happened to anyone yet!!! Whoever didn’t happen threw a stone at me!!! You can find your friend, for example, on “Facebook” or “Instagram,” that takes its child to school on the first day with all the required equipment plus his school meals that add sparkling toys, but you and half of the school fees [mineral/school fees] haven’t seen yours yet.
Or do you see an equal person who bought a new car that you want to own many years ago-while you really feel happy that your friend has achieved something proud-you can’t help but feel sad that even the driver’s license you’ve already done for about five has not won. You will see a child who imitated you “posted’’ on ‘story’’ photos showing him published in Kivu or Muhazi but you have not gone to such a place for rest for about four years.
How to do it
The first thing you should remember is this: You compare your whole life to theirs and it’s themselves, not yours. Maybe it’s not the first time you’ve heard this but it keeps repeating itself. You have to remember that what you see is not really the whole photo. There is another life you don’t know.
I remember when I was out by the river with ‘my friend and my family. One of my friend’s children was as if he was having trouble seeing her. Each of us was struck by lightning and the situation seemed to be broken. Do you know something that evening my friend posted on Instagram? A good photo of him with his family, who are in a place on the water eating life, laughing at the laughter of the water, as if happiness is everything.
Social media is covered with beautiful photo moments but this does not reveal the full truth of the owners’ existence.
I’m not saying we don’t appreciate our friends and the good they’ve achieved; we just have to remember that what we see on the site is an area of a wider image. Look at the picture of real life. Good and bad go hand in hand; bad times come and good things follow. The downside of social media is that they reflect a small part of the photo and it is pre-processed.
“Comparing yourself to others is a thief of happiness.” These are the words of Thomas Edison.
When we compare ourselves to others, we will forever find someone who is better than us or better than us. Whether someone is better than us or better than us, this or that.
In order to break the comparison with others that makes you feel bad, jealous, guilty, or superior or critical of others, you must first know the most important thing.
The only thing that will help you feel confident is to stand firm on your values, principles, and dreams. If you really don’t know your values, I would advise you to take the time to think about what is good for you and what you really want in life.
AMANI Nesta