We live in an ultra-connected world and smartphones and computers are essential accessories for staying in touch with social and professional circles.
Much of our professional, social and emotional life takes place in the digital world, through social media. For many, checking WhatsApp or Instagram is literally the first thing they do each day, right after they open their eyes.
In recent times, even the political activity of countries is widely reported on the social media channels of the rulers themselves, even before being reported in the traditional media.
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This whole scenario puts us in a context of total immersion in the internet and social networks, as they are our completely open doors to the world, with them we can do everything.
However, with this france email list growing and unprecedented trend, paradoxical questions naturally arise that make us question the real impact that our screen time and social media have on our mental and physical health.
How connected are we?
A survey conducted by Cupom Válido, gathering data from WeAreSocial and Hootsuite, showed that Brazil is the third country in the world that uses social networks the most, with an average daily consumption of 3h42min of connection. In addition, around 70.3% of the Brazilian population uses some social network in their daily lives.
Regarding the purpose of using social media, 36.5% of Brazilians use the channels to stay up to date on new events and news, while 35% seek entertainment and 34.4% use it to fill their free time.
This is extremely important data if we question the impact of all this time spent online and spending too much time on social media on our mental health and our daily lives.
women using social media
The main impacts of social networks on mental health
Of course, social media is not the bad guy, but the way we use and take advantage of these technologies is crucial to determine whether the impact is more negative than positive. Increasing and excessive use, especially among younger generations, can lead to a series of feelings, behaviors and habits that are not at all healthy. Understand the main impacts of social media on mental health:
Anxiety
Incessant negative news, unpleasant comments and the idealization of a perfect world are some of the factors that make social media make us anxious.
Who has never lain down before going to sleep looking at a social network for hours and feeling increasingly restless with the desire to change their life, do something different and, thus, finally achieve a distant ideal in life?
If we are not careful, this behavior becomes part of our routine and ends up harming us immensely.
For those who already have a clinical picture of anxiety, it can be even worse, as the feeling of comparison, fear of the future and the feeling of wasting time can be a tremendous trigger for a crisis.
Low self-esteem
A quick browse through social media, especially those that publish photos and videos, and we will realize that it is a very well-defined culture of creating representations of our lives in which everything is perfect and ideal.
Brands, public figures and ordinary social media users often reinforce unattainable living standards, with destructive productivity routines and body standards considered better than others.
According to research by the Royal Society for Public Health, excessive use of Instagram negatively impacts self-image and fuels a fear in young people of not experiencing what other people share on the network.
In this way, high connectivity through social networks can directly impact the user's self-esteem, which ends up causing them to fall into cycles of comparison with other people.
Immediacy and inattention
With increasingly shorter durations, the videos we consume on social media condition us to a tremendous immediacy, which results in difficulty in having focus and attention when we need to pay attention to something for longer.
Furthermore, the consumer power that the internet and social media provide often makes us act impulsively in the face of immediacy. The idea that everything needs to be done yesterday is reinforced, otherwise it will be unsatisfactory.
Social isolation
Have you ever been in a social situation where everyone is staring at their phone screens? Whether it’s with family, friends, or a spouse, hyperconnectivity takes us away from the present moment and ends up preventing us from creating real connections with people when they’re physically near us.
Because it makes it so easy to connect people, the internet often ends up taking the lead over oral dialogue even when people get together specifically to talk.
FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out
Have you ever heard of FOMO, the Fear Of Missing Out? In free translation, the term means “Fear of Missing Out” and represents the feeling of anguish and anxiety that many people have when they feel like they are missing out on some important event at any given moment. Almost two-thirds of all social media users suffer from FOMO.
An example of this condition in practice is when we spend hours evaluating other people's lives going from strength to strength through posts on social media and we have the overwhelming feeling that we are wasting time and not making the most of our life.
On top of all this, this entire culture creates immense pressure on the idea of living intensely, living everything possible and sharing all these moments with the world through a smartphone.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is a topic that has definitely become more common in the last decade. Yet, it feels like we haven’t talked about it enough yet.
It is not uncommon to see people suffer virtual attacks, such as insults and accusations, condemning behaviors considered wrong or, often, condemning another person's appearance.
Dealing with this type of comment brings a lot of frustration and the negative impact it has on our mental health is huge, often becoming a subject of therapy so that it is possible to create coping mechanisms to overcome it.
How can we prevent the impacts of social media on mental health?
Unless you really want to, you don't need to take drastic measures like leaving your cell phone inside the house every time you go out or deleting your social media profiles to prevent all these bad consequences.
To manage these impacts, everything starts with your routine and how social media is included in it. Try to identify the times when you spend the most time online and start policing yourself to reduce this time.
Invest in other activities in your free time, activities that are healthier for your body and mind, providing you with positive stimuli.