how social media can negatively affect your mental health...

Mental Health and the Effects of Social Media………….

Is Facebook making you depressed? So, you’re not alone. I’ve heard similar complaints from friends and I’ve felt it myself on a bad day. If Facebook posts depress you,

It makes sense that if you are already in a low mood or not feeling good about yourself, having pictures of happy couples and smiling babies pop up on your screen on a consistent basis may make you feel worse. The same is true if you tend to generally have a negative outlook on life.

 The solution is simple………

Here are four things you can do today to help you cope:

Deactivate your Facebook account (you can always reactivate it later)

Follow your most (seemingly) happy and successful friends

Remember that Facebook isn’t a representation of reality

Turn off the computer and go make your own annoyingly happy moments

Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health

Instagram is the worst social media network for mental health and well-being, according to a recent survey of almost 1,500 teens and young adults. While the photo-based platform got points for self-expression and self-identity, it was also associated with high levels of anxiety, depression, bullying, and FOMO, or the “fear of missing out.”

Some Harmful Consequences ……….

Lack of Interpersonal Skills

Children spending too much time online may consider a virtual relation substitute for a real one. By spending more time online they often ignore the importance and the appropriate behavior related to a face-to-face contact. Hence, the set of interpersonal skills that are necessary for the success in the real life may not develop properly.

Effect on health

The excessive use of these sites affects the mental as well as physical health. Students do not take their meals on time and take proper rest. They take an excessive amount of coffee or tea to remain active and focused which affects negatively on their health.

The overuse of these sites on a daily basis has many negative effects on the physical and mental health of students making them lethargic and unmotivated to create contact with the people in person.

You start comparing your life with other people

The moment you see the photo you start comparing your life with their life. Then grows the feeling of misery inside of you, you start pitying yourself for not having a cool life as your friend’s. You must never compare your life with others because you never know the real struggles that person might be going through. Feeling miserable about your life for no real reasons is an adverse effect of Facebook on mental health.

Impact on Sleep

Heavy usage can have a negative impact on physical well-being which in turn can affect mental health. This is particularly relevant when it comes to sleep disturbance.  Several studies have linked sleep difficulties to screen time.

Chasing likes on post to drive self-worth/self-esteem

The moment you see the photo you start comparing your life with their life. Then grows the feeling of misery inside of you, you start pitying yourself for not having a cool life as your friend’s. You must never compare your life with others because you never know the real struggles that person might be going through. Feeling miserable about your life for no real reasons is an adverse effect of Facebook on mental health.

Online Social Network Addiction

Addiction to online social networking, as well as Internet addiction in general, is recent and insufficiently investigated phenomena, frequently discussed and sometimes disputed in the psychiatric literature

Tips on How to Prevent Harm

Remember That the Internet Is Not Limited to Social Networks Only!

I believe that, despite the fact that the social networks have very rich opportunities, they cannot pretend to be the whole Internet. The possibility of obtaining information from social networks is severely limited by the format of providing this information: a few texts, a lot of pictures.

The Internet is a great technological achievement. You can study, learn new things and obtain valuable information without leaving your workplace. Social networks provide only a small, “cut-down” part of all these opportunities.

Give Your Brain the Opportunity to Relax

If you are tired from work – have a rest for a while. Go outside and breathe. Let the accumulated information be “digested”. It is better than visiting social networks as soon as you finished your work, thus filling your attention with new information. Have a rest and try to relax. You will be less tired this way.

Plan family nights

Instead of watching TV or doing individual things during dinner time, eat dinner as a family on the table and play games afterward.

Set a timer

After you’ve made your plan, you need to stick to it, and you can’t do that unless you’re keeping careful track of how much time you’re spending on the internet. If you’re allowing yourself three hours a day at first, you might break that up into three sessions that are one hour each. If that’s the case, make sure to set a timer to let yourself know when your hour is up each time you sit down at your computer.

Develop new hobbies

Take up walking or jogging.

Join a recreational sports league — soccer, basketball, football, whatever you enjoy the most!

Join a book club.

Start a band with some friends who share your taste in music.

Take up knitting or crocheting.

Start gardening.

Prepare home-cooked meals

Taste delicious, save money, and eat up your spare hours when you’d normally be surfing the internet!