Mental health: The two sides of social media

13 days ago

Greetings!

When it comes to understanding the saying that anything with an advantage must also have a disadvantage, social media, especially in its current stage, is no exception. Relating this to how it affects our mental health, it has two sides too: one part gives us pleasure, while the other brings dissatisfaction. I have experienced both sides, which is why I’m very mindful of the things I engage with in my social media life.

The positive side of social media in relation to our mental health:

Social media is pleasurable when you get to see things that interest you the most or chat with people you find lovely. Personally, I enjoy reading or seeing things that make me happy instead of sorrowful content, which is why I’m selective about the pages I follow. I like comic stuff, light-hearted content, and especially enjoy football banter. I gravitate towards these because the world is already hard enough, and I don’t want to expose myself to more negativity in the social media space.

Our mental health is shaped by what we consume. If you constantly allow it to be exposed to depressing content, it will settle into that mindset. On the other hand, when you feed it happy, uplifting things, it responds similarly.

My social media feed is filled with things I enjoy—comic skits, funny news, and football content. Thank goodness I don’t support any major club that frequently loses and puts me in a bad mood every time I see posts about them. I have fun always and laugh to my satisfaction when those teams get scored.

Have I ever felt down because of social media?

My answer is a big YES! I’ve been there many times, which is why I decided to make my social media experience lighthearted and never too serious. I’ve seen posts from my colleagues that made me feel like I wasn’t doing enough. They have houses, cars, and other achievements, and each time I come across those, I find myself struggling with thoughts and regrets about not following their path. This used to affect me deeply, often leading to hours of unnecessary self-reflection. This feeling is natural; it can happen to anyone, no matter how content or satisfied they are. There are always things we desire but don’t have. Although we may not dwell on it for a long time, seeing others possess what we want can stir up certain feelings.

However, I didn’t delete or unfollow friends on social media. Instead, I set up my account so that the content filling my timeline aligns with what I want to see. Thank goodness for the latest AI algorithms that show us content similar to what we usually consume.