Dealing with Social Media during the Pandemic

The platforms used by many for networking and entertainment are Facebook, Instagram, Retweet, and Tiktok. But the negative effects will outweigh the good ones of your life as social media starts to eat up much of the time. There is no official diagnosis for Social Media Addiction out there yet. It mainly refers to a person’s overuse or heavy reliance on social media.

By providing fun or engaging moments, social media is purposefully designed to attract users coming back to it. It’s certainly not harmful to use social media every once in a while. But overuse would lead to lower self-esteem, as well as alienation, anxiety, loneliness, and depression — motivated in part by contrasting your life to others. Prioritizing the use of social media over genuine relationships with family and friends, growing dependency on social media as a means to cope with concerns and pressures, irritability, disconnectedness, and worrying about social media if you don’t use it. There could be some signs that social media may be overused.

Those who feel like they are beginning to have a problem are encouraged to reach out to a mental health provider or take steps to self-regulate their own use. Grab a break. You can also use your PC or computer to use social media, which you won’t have with you at all times. This is especially important with our mental health being on the line with COVID-19 so widespread.