Throughout most of September and the beginning of October, I’ve been glued to the TV for a number of reasons.
Our government is going nuts; people are still dying in droves from COVID-19; no one can agree on anything; and Facebook is getting trashed again.
If we needed scares for October, we’re certainly getting them in the form of the daily national news.
The news I’ve been paying particularly close attention to is the testimony of former Facebook employee Frances Haugen, who delivered a rather scathing depiction of the damage that Facebook and its connected apps like Instagram and Snapchat can do to young and developing brains.
Her argument, if you’ve heard any of it, relates to the algorithms used to optimize imagery and content that can be addictive and encourage poor self-image and negatively impact mental health. All things that I personally found to be true in my use of them as a young person. I also have seen some of these platforms diversify greatly, but still maintain the scroll and click obsessed algorithms that push content, a good amount of it damaging and fake, incessantly.
Traffic is a big factor in the social media world’s success, the more people searching streaming and interacting online, the better. However, this also has shown that both the worst and best of humanity have infiltrated the depths of the online universe. The impacts of which we’re now seeing affect our real world, our families, our children on a daily basis.
Growing up, ever since we were old enough to get online, I, and everyone around me my age, were bombarded with images online that pushed the ideal male and female images. All of the things you saw advertised in the rest of the world’s media, but we were now becoming a generation that had it in our pockets all day long.
It caused animosity in a lot of instances in our young friend groups, both online and off, with romances, rumors and lies. That is what I have come to realize social media is best at producing in young people if given the opportunity, which it regularly is. Often, young people don’t understand the filter-less character that comes with the online world and they feel open to exploring, which can have potentially awful results. I certainly know that I ran into my fair share of things I should not have seen, but did, thanks to the internet.
One of the biggest things that impacted my experience with learning how social media affected my mental health was realizing the real impacts of the fear of missing out (FOMO).
Now, this may be an acronym that is new to some, and I think everyone needs a lesson in its meaning. FOMO is something that many kids, who grew up with social media in their lives, have most likely experienced.
The FOMO is produced largely as a result of the veil of idealism that individuals create through customizable profiles, posts, and content. On social media, from what I’ve noticed, is a place where most people post the best version of themselves and their everyday lives, some often at exaggerated levels. Because of this, the expectations of society have skyrocketed, but I will say that it’s also created important dialogues about use like the one I’m attempting to convey now.
The dangers of this expectation can have deep impacts on one’s psyche and their view of themselves as well as others. Always attempting to create a perfect version of yourself every day is not only exhausting but unrealistic. Not one single person can be their best selves every single second of the day, got in every post on social media, nor should we have to. All this creates is a feeling of either jealousy, which then can create the FOMO or an intense feeling of not being enough or doing enough.
To me, it’s time that we pay more attention to how our activity on social media makes us feel emotional. Does Facebook leave you feeling overwhelmed? Does Instagram make you feel inadequate, lonely? Do you hate admitting that to literally anyone? I did, too, until I realized everyone else felt the same.
One thing that helped me distance myself from social media was literally doing so for a period of time. Detoxing your brain from the constant pouring of information can literally be a healing thing for the brain and the body. And as everyone knows, getting less contact with the blue light that almost every device produces anytime it's used, is always a good thing.
The new mute features on many apps can also be a great tool for avoiding the FOMO, too. Have someone who often makes you feel annoyed when you scroll through posts? Mute them, and no one will have to know. You can always unmute! There’s no logical reason someone should have to know what every single one of their social media contacts is doing all the time, if I think about it too hard it gets creepy. So, take breaks from people if you need to, that’s healthy in the real world too. The delete button can be useful in extreme cases, as well.
Overall, just listen to your emotions when they’re telling you that you need a rest from the stimuli. More than ever, we’re still in a pandemic and self-care should still be the main priority. The internet is a wilder place than it ever has been, and taking care to use it wisely can make a big difference in a human’s well-being.
For most people, quitting cold turkey is far too difficult and results in recidivism and re-downloading. It’s a cycle that’s worth breaking and possible to overcome, but first understanding how your relationship with social media functions and how it affects you is the paramount step.
To find the freedom of respecting your emotions and needs is an incredible thing and I want every person to be able to benefit from that. Beginning a more positive relationship with social media and your online presence can be a great way to do that.
Olivia Fellows is a reporter for the Pioneer. She can be reached at olivia.fellows@hearstnp.com.
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October 25, 2021 at 04:05PM
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FELLOWS: Social media can impact mental health - The Pioneer
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