Social Media and Mental Health: How Overuse Can Take a Toll

Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives. It's a platform that people use to connect, share, and keep up with the fast-paced world. It's hard to imagine a life without online resources like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. However, when we overuse social media, it can have a negative impact on our mental health.

Social Media Overuse and its toll on mental health

Feeling Inadequate and Envious

Excessive use of social media can trigger feelings of inadequacy. People may compare their lives or appearances with others on social media, leading to feelings of dissatisfaction with their own lives. Social media presents a skewed reality where people only show the happy, fancy side of their lives. It's easy to forget that what we see online is virtual, and we don't see the struggles and hardships behind the scenes.

Social Media Connectivity and Over Engagement

Team illustrations by Storyset

Reduced Productivity and Focus

Social media has changed the way we live and work. We spend more time on social media rather than productive tasks, and as a result, our productivity has gone down. When our focus is taken by social media and online surfing, it becomes difficult to get things done. It's much easier to just scroll and surf endlessly, which makes us more lazy to work on our productivity.

Impact on Children's Attention Span

Children today spend most of their time watching YouTube videos and TV shows rather than engaging in brain-stimulating activities. As a result, their attention span has reduced drastically, and they cannot focus on things for more than a few seconds. Children are more interested in quick results rather than slow and steady progress in their daily lives. This inattentive behavior has led to a decline in their academic performance.

Limiting Social Media Use

We can't completely cut the use of the internet and social media from our lives, but it's high time we limit its usage. The internet is a powerful tool that has revolutionised the way we live, but we need to use it in a responsible way. The best way to use social media is to serve our needs and not let it control our lives.

Negative side of social media and connectivity

Team illustrations by Storyset

Social media has become an essential part of our daily lives, but we need to be mindful of how much we use it. Overuse of social media can lead to negative effects on our mental health, including feelings of inadequacy, reduced productivity and focus, and decline in attention span. We need to learn how to use social media responsibly so that it doesn't take a toll on our mental health and wellbeing. By limiting our use of social media, we can live a more healthy and fulfilling life.

The best way we can use social media is to serve our needs and not to make it serve us. If you are finding yourself in a hole, stop digging. Internet and social media, like any other thing, has both pros and cons. But mental health should always be our priority and we just have to learn how to use internet and social media properly, so that it does not takes a toll on our mental health and wellbeing.

Love & Peace.