Social Media Toxicity

Social media can be a great tool, used to connect us, inspire us, and make our dreams become a reality, but what about when it gets to be too much?

Social media is something that almost all of us use on a daily basis. Checking Facebook, scrolling mindlessly through Instagram, or connecting to our friends on a platform like Snapchat. It can be a great tool for business owners, or influencers, to share products and create a community of like-minded souls. It can be a great place, yet we’ve all been there when somethings been shared and a list of negativity starts flowing below it. People can say almost anything on the internet without facing any consequences, and many people take advantage of that.

Have you ever thought about how detrimental that is to our mental health?

When you get on social media and start reading those comments that get your blood boiling, your body’s cortisol levels spike, putting you in that ‘fight-or-flight’ mode. Raising your heart rate and increasing your stress levels, even without you being aware of it! So many of us that struggle with anxiety already know what that feeling is like, and depending on who/what you follow on social media, it can become a huge trigger!

Scrolling through Instagram and constantly checking up on how your favorite celebrities are doing can be exciting, maybe even inspirational, but how often do we start looking around at our lives and decide that what we have isn’t good enough? It can make us take for granted what we have and decide that the way we live isn’t something to be proud of, it’s something that we need to be ashamed of and change. It’s a constant stress to share what you’re doing or post anything that you want to post when you are worried that you’re going to get judged or even harassed.

Staring at the little screen in front of you can really be an escape from reality, but how much escape is too much? The average person spends over 2 hours a day on social media, which might not seem like a lot, but when you think about the amount of time spent sleeping, eating, or working, 2 hours is a huge chunk of valuable time in your life that could be spent with your loved ones. How many times have you invited people over, just to spend the entire time as a group staring at your phone rather than focusing on what’s in front of you? Life can go by fast, why take for granted the time we have together?

By being conscious of what you consume on social media, and deciding that actually living your life rather than watching someone else live theirs is something you want to do, your mental health and your relationships can thrive.

I dare you to start paying attention to who/what you follow on social media, notice how it makes you feel. Notice how much time you spend looking at your phone rather than looking at your partner, or your kids. Pay attention to the way you’re living your life, and decide if you’re even living it.