OMG is that trending on Twitter? What’s new on YouTube? Oh, my frenemy’s Facebook page is a disaster! Who is sharing my pins on Pinterest? And there’s much more to this, but don’t some of these thoughts provoke you to visit your social media profile every single buzz? It is high time that we get a hold of ourselves and prevent ruining our mental health. If you get extremely anxious about anything related to sharing your posts or the status of your profile, then it’s conspicuous that social media is affecting your mental peace.
According to etactics.com, around 97% of teenagers and 86% of young adults indulge in social media activities. Various social media apps have seen a growth in downloads between 2019 and 2020. Since a majority of human beings on earth have access to the internet on their cellphones, it is easy to stay connected with the world. Around 59% of US teenagers undergo online harassment. That includes cyber-bullying, spreading of rumors, explicit messages, derogatory comments, and threats.
Likewise, in India around 197 million Indians suffer from mental disorders, 45.7 million go through depression, and 44.9 million have an anxiety disorder. Most of these mental health issues claim to have a deep-rooted connection with social media. Furthermore, these figures worsened during the pandemic.
In fact, at times, you know that surfing on the internet for a prolonged period is wrong. But we do not act to get rid of the addiction. And the worst is we don’t know how to interpret the signs that damage our mental health. Let’s have a look at some of the signs of social media affecting your mental peace.
You Compare Too Much with Others
Who doesn’t make comparisons? But brooding about others’ lives brings in negativity. Most teenagers fall prey to such unnecessary comparisons. They find numerous fancy ideas and non-productive activities on social media. The main cause of suicides among teenagers is also comparisons on social media.
It is the responsibility of every teenager to understand that every human being leads a different life. Your teachers, parents, and siblings cannot help you in understanding things all the time. Make friends who understand you better, and do not throw you under pressure just to make you look better on social media. Always remember the grass is greener on the other side, but you have no idea about the employment of efforts to make it look greener.
It is better to work on your grass, and don’t indulge in comparisons. Since constant comparison will make you mentally sick and you’ll lose yourself in the long run. So, losing self-control is the first sign of social media affecting your mental peace.
You Lead a Dual Life
It is one of the common signs of degrading mental health. When you see how others live their lives, you wish to copy their lifestyle. The purpose of social media is to keep you connected with your loved ones. But the flip side is it actually drains you emotionally. Or rather, you allow yourself to get fooled by others’ ostentatious lifestyle.
In order to get into that circle, you tend to adopt a dual lifestyle. It indirectly makes you lose money and good friends. And in an attempt to look good on social media, you start sharing things that you are not even aware of.
Clicking hundreds of selfies, hobnobbing with influencers, posting and sharing your edited pictures, etc. All these actions make you lead a dual life. And believe me, when you commence living a dual life, it’s a red flag that you are on the way to lose mental peace.
You get Unnecessarily Anxious
When you post something, and you wish to get it shared faster so that you gain popularity in a short span makes you anxious. It is normal to get anxious when starting the first time. But when you get frequently anxious on every post or comment or increase/decrease in likes/dislikes it’s a sign that you are having anxiety attacks.
In certain cases, if you feel uneasy due to anxiousness, you must consult a doctor. Anxiety, constant worry, and impatience can have an adverse impact on your health. If you realize, that it’s high time you should work on your uneasiness, then talk to your seniors and close friends. For immediate results, cease using social medial for a while. Check for other signs of social media affecting your mental peace.
You Always Want to be the One to Share First
Obviously, everyone likes to keep themselves updated. But when you stress yourself to stay updated just to share a post first, you lose your calmness. It is not a competition, and no one is going to reward you to post first.
In a view, to avoid losing any news, you constantly keep checking your phone. This habit distracts you from work and that affects your productivity. In reality, various social media platforms make you hunt for news. And becoming instantly aggressive about something is a visible sign of social media affecting your mental peace.
You Beg for Likes and Shares
Many influencers, vloggers, and bloggers put up a formal request for likes and subscriptions. But it is limited only to their videos or posts they share online. They do not go begging for likes and shares. Of course, many others aim for overnight popularity and keep begging.
This is another apparent sign of social media affecting your mental peace. Adjuring and pestering others frequently to increase your likes and subscriptions are not the way to go. It takes time to build readership and followership. Patience and consistency are the keys.
You Intentionally Post/Share Hatred Articles
No doubt in today’s world, hate speeches and dark articles spread around the web like wildfire. It’s because people like reading or watching stuff that’s hyped. Most often controversial data is circulated to boost unknown marketing campaigns.
Some also have political agenda, that makes people opinionated. When you wish to push your videos or posts to rank higher in the SERPs, you choose to go the negative way. The intention to purposefully share a negative post or article is also a sign of danger. It indicates that your mind is going adrift in search of gaining popularity. It’s another prominent sign of social media affecting your mental peace.
You Suffer from Insomnia
It is fathomable, when you want to keep track of what others are doing, you tend to get over-excited. This behavior causes sleeplessness at night. Most teenagers and young adults suffer from insomnia because of hormonal imbalances.
The psychological experts confirm that when you use cellphones right before going to bed, you direct your brain to stay awake. The blue light affects your sleeping patterns, and damages your brain cells. So, those who are addicted to staying on social media during night hours are prone to sleep deprivation.
You Use Social Media to Hurt Others
Today people do not just use the right to express themselves, but they exploit it. If people do not like something, they do not hesitate to disparage others. No one follows the rule of social communication. They just go on posting hate comments and demoralize the recipient.
Some people register fake accounts to troll others. There is no sufficient study that defines why people like masking themselves to hurt others. The evil satisfaction of hurting others is indefinable.
If you intentionally use social media platform to pick at somebody, then you must think twice before sharing it. If you don’t like something be humble and kind when conveying your message. Take the person’s efforts into consideration for developing the content. Being spiteful will do no good to your mental health.
You Think Only About Increasing your Followers
When you are an influencer or wish to be one, you require followers. It’s the basic requirement to boost your channel or website. But it’s not an easy process, it takes time and quality content to boost the web traffic.
Many people mull over their posts and drag themselves to depression. The worst aspect of depression is that you never come to know about it unless you feel the sadness seeping in. So, if you worry too much about how to increase your followers and start minting money in no time, then it is a definite sign of social media affecting your mental peace.
You get Easily Irritated Over Petty Issues
You wish for something and you don’t get it. It is evident that you’ll get agitated. But you cannot lose your temper over insignificant issues. Social media makes you seek things, incites you to buy things, and forces you to behave in a certain way (mostly like your favorite influencer).
But, when you cannot afford to live your life in a certain way, you become aggressive. Trivial problems pique you and then you blurt out hurtful words. This wicked behavior is another sign that you should spend less time on social media.
Conclusion
Social media is a boon to mankind. It helps in aiding businesses and allows people to stay connected with each other. But we have begun to misuse it. It’s taking a toll on your mental health. People humiliate, abuse, and insult each other on social media platforms. Essentially, social media is not the main culprit, it’s the people who abuse such platforms. The purpose of social media was to bring people closer, but a majority of people have chosen it to spread hatred. If we do not curb this evil behavior, there will be a rise in numerous psychological issues among young adults.
