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With technology advancing more and more everyday, we as a society have grown reliant on them over time. Social media is one of the things that keeps us hooked on our mobile phones for hours on end and it's becoming even more important that we learn to develop a healthy relationship with social media. Research suggests that social media can negatively impact our mental health. Below are some examples of studies that have investigated this association:
In spite of the research, social media is not inherently an evil force. The problem with social media comes when we develop a toxic relationship with it. If we can find ways to use social media in positive ways, then social media can be helpful, not harmful. Here are our recommendations to help you develop a healthy relationship with social media.
Realising the amount of time we spend on our devices can be unsettling. We intend to look at our social media for two minutes, and then suddenly two hours later we find ourselves lying in the same position questioning our life choices. Wasting time is far too easy, so what can be helpful is to create a schedule whereby you have set times to spend on social media. If you have an Android phone, you can use the QualityTime app to monitor your online activity. QualityTime gives you reports on how your apps are being used and the daily and weekly frequency at which they are being used. You can even set reminders to take a break from your devices.
Similarly, if you have an iPhone rather than an Android, you can use Screen Time which is a feature that shows you how much time you spend on your apps. There is also the option to set limits for your Most Used apps. This feature also allows you to Share Across Devices, where you can then view your overall usage across devices that are signed in with your Apple ID and password. Some additional settings include Downtime, App Limits, Always Allowed, Content & Privacy Restrictions and Family Sharing.
Notifications can be useful, however not all notifications are created equal. A lot of the time, they are simply distracting and often disrupt our focus on tasks that are more important. For instance, a reminder of your upcoming dentist appointment is useful, while a suggestion to buy a pointless item from Facebook Marketplace is not. You might want to consider switching off notifications from your social media accounts if you feel that they are regularly distracting you. Here's how you can turn off your notifications on your iPhone or Android phone:
To turn off notifications for apps, go to Settings > Notifications > Siri Suggestions, turn on Allow Notifications, then turn off any app.
Open your device's Settings app. Tap Notifications. Turn Notification click on an app icon to switch it on or off.
Just as there are certain apps we do not want to receive notifications from, there are also social media accounts that may cause your mood to drop slightly. We advise following accounts that make you feel good or offer some sort of purpose or educational benefits. An example of this is that a study of 195 young women found that exposure to body positive Instagram content appeared to boost the participants' satisfaction with their own bodies. Similar results have been found with men. One study found that men who reported looking at fitness insporational content more regularly said that they compared their own appearance to others more frequently and had a stronger desire to be muscular.
It is no secret that many people begin to feel that they are inadequate when they are constantly bombarded with images of people with seemingly perfect lives: sculpted physiques without any imperfections, stunning views from a blissful holiday, and selfies taken with perfect lighting. What is important to remember, is that a lot of the time these images do not represent a person's lived experience, but rather a highlight reel of all their most flattering moments.
While social media can sometimes be detrimental to our mental health, there are ways to control its effect on your life. If you have tried different things and still feel that social media is negatively impacting you, then it might be time for you to delete it completely and take a step back.
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