SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH.

In this world where technology has outdone everything, talking or chatting is necessary but meeting someone is not really a quick idea. Human beings are social creatures. We need companionship to thrive in life, and the strength of our connections has a huge impact on our mental well-being. A good number of followers make us feel that we have an edge over others. Being connected socially, makes people seek validation even from the people they don’t really know, it helps people to ease out their stress, boost confidence and show their talent. It also enhances our communication skills, creativity and much more. On the other hand, lacking good number of social connections makes a person see him/her self as someone not worthy of anything, makes one feel insecure, causes isolation, health problems as well.

Even though we are precisely aware about the happiness we procure from the metaphysical universe in our head, but our conjecture is far removed from reality. Too many problems arise due to over use of social media such as;

· Insecurity: Viewing things, knowing that somehow, they are manipulated still can make one feel insecure.

· FOMO (Fear of missing out): Although, this concept is far beyond than just social media usage, sites such as snapchat, Instagram or Facebook seem to add on to it. Viewers start feeling that they are missing out on a lot of things which impacts one’s self-esteem and triggers anxiety and even imbue negative feelings.

· Separation: Studies show that high usage of social media causes feelings of loneliness and hopelessness as the viewer becomes incapable to doing anything else apart from check his/her phone after every minute. This also has detrimental effects on education, grades, sleep patterns and physical wellbeing as the person prefers to play online rather than actual games.

· Self-Absorption and The Opposite: Seeking appreciation is blissful, but why not by our own family members? COMPARISON was never the idea, but suddenly we like everything the other person has and not what we do. We look at ourselves in the mirror and criticize ourselves, not realising that what we have is also very unique and that beauty has no boundary. The chaos in our mind makes us so competitive that we sometimes overdo ourselves, forgetting the fact of how privileged we already are.

We live in an era where things get blown out of proportion by a single tweet. All of us rely on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Whatsapp etc to find something relatable to us and to find the people, with whom we want to maintain contacts with. While each has its positive points, it is extremely important to keep in mind that social media can never be a replacement for real world human connections and interactions. Overuse of social media causes an amount of destruction that is uncontrollable.

· Social media addiction is one such disorder that is caused due to the overuse of the internet and ways to control it are, as mentioned;

· Reduce Screen Time: Studies have proved that reduction of even 30 minutes of internet usage on a daily basis can lower down the risk of feelings of loneliness, FOMO and anxiety. To bring this into practice one can use an app to track screen time usage, can put away the gadget while doing the daily chores of the day, can turn down push notifications or can take a break and deactivate some accounts.

· Change Your Focus: We use social media purely out of habit and when we do not have many things aligned for our day. So, instead try and keep yourself busy. If you are feeling the need to talk to someone then don’t keep texting instead get up and go to a friend who lives close by. Don’t give time to content that spreads negativity or that’s sensitive to your nature.

· Spend Time Offline: Try to arrange meeting with your old friends, engage actively in sports and go to the gym, build meaningful relationships. During this time, you can even do things that you are good at but do them only for yourself.

· Express Gratitude: Expressing or feeling of gratitude towards important things in life can make one feel free of discontent, delusional thoughts and animosity. To keep yourself happy and healthy practice mindfulness, take ME-TIME daily and help others because that enriches the community of social beings.