Coping with Social Media-Induced Angst
What do you do when you’re bored? If you’re like most people, you turn on your computer (or get your mobile phone) to browse your Facebook newsfeed or follow friends and popular people on Twitter. As ‘social beings’, it is normal for us to find comfort, entertainment, and certain feelings of gladness when interacting with our social media friends. But spending too much time on them could be doing your mental health more harm than good. Maybe you have experienced it several times – feeling sad and anxious after an hour or two on Facebook. It’s called social media-induced angst.
Just as businesses use social media to promote their brand, individuals use it to promote themselves and at the same time, gauge how other people feel about them. For instance, having many “likes” and “followers” may be interpreted as approvals. This makes social networking sites somewhat ‘addictive’ and pleasurable. Unfortunately, not getting any of these could mean that ‘nobody’ cares. And when you see your FB friends getting more “likes” and positive comments than you are, you may begin to feel anxious and inadequate, according to a recent study carried out by the charity Anxiety UK.
Same feelings can be experienced when a friend (someone you personally know) doesn’t ‘follow’ you back on Twitter or ‘un-friend’ you on Facebook.
Whilst the social media keeps us updated about most things that happen to our friends, especially the milestones and achievements they have achieved in life, it can also stir up a wide range of emotions, including sadness. In fact, many people are now using the term “social media depression” to refer to negative thoughts and emotions brought by social media engagements. But despite the common usage of this term, there’s no formal definition or diagnosis of social media depression which exists at this time.
What’s so wrong about social networking sites like Facebook? Several studies have been conducted to measure the ill effects of excessive social media engagements on mental health. Because individuals use social media to ‘promote’ themselves, you would rarely see the struggles and battles experienced by your friends. You will only see their smiles, grand vacation trips, and extravagant nights-out with their peers. Whilst these photos seem harmless, they can produce negative emotions to some people. Why? According to an American clinical psychologist Dr Michael Friedman, the problem with social media is that it promotes too much social comparison. Comparing your life to your friends’ profile pages can leave you feeling disconnected, inferior, and left behind.
Social Media is Not Your Life
A great deal of research suggests that excessive social media engagements can be bad for your mental health. One study, conducted by the Utah Valley University in the US, found that people who spent more time with friends on ‘real world’ and less time socialising with ‘online friends’ were happier than those spent majority of their time establishing relationships via the internet.
If you are experiencing an influx of negative emotions or thoughts whenever you log in to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, the following tips might help you:
Log out. Whenever you start experiencing unwanted emotions, stop scrolling down and immediately log out from your social media account. This will spare you from experiencing more negative emotions.
Limit your internet use. Give more time creating ‘real’ social interactions than social media engagements. After a few days, you might experience feeling more positive and engaged in your life.
Unsubscribe when necessary. You don’t have to ‘un-friend’ that person whose posts, photos or status updates are annoying you. It’s really easy to “hide” their posts in your newsfeed or ‘unsubscribe’ to them, without them knowing about it.
Find healthier ‘outlets’. If you’re the type of person who resort to social media when sad, depressed or stressed out, consider shifting your attention to other things. Walking, instead of surfing the web, can significantly boost your mood, lower your stress levels, and give you more energy. Or, you can try baking, making an artwork, practising yoga or meditation, and any other engaging activity that does not involve computers.
Social media is not your life. Therefore, it should not define who you are. Neither should it dictate what you feel. When your ‘virtual’ world is giving you more reasons to be sad and all, tick the “x” button on your browser, turn off your computer and disconnect. That’s really how simple it is.
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