Summer Intern Anna is back! And she’s writing for me two times a month this summer! Enjoy her hard earned wisdom as a person in solid recovery! ~ Becky
How does social media affect you? – by Intern Anna
I’m back again on the topic of social media. This past week in my own life has been characterized by many negative aspects of being online. I think being off of social media for a while and coming back online has shown me the true bliss of being offline.
Nowadays it is so easy to get immersed in a new app or game on our devices. This past week I noticed how much less productive I am when I have social media downloaded on my phone. It keeps me distracted and it makes me so much more tired. I think social media can prevent us from getting good sleep, hence making us more sleepy and grumpy. I know the two major things I need to prioritize to keep on track with my recovery are sleep and eating. When one of those fails, the other is likely to follow.
So, realizing social media impacts me more than I like to admit made me think about how I want to be using my time. I came to the conclusion that social media usually ends up being more negative than positive. To come to this conclusion I asked myself, “Do I feel more optimistic or more negative after being on social media?.” The answer was pretty easy to find.
I think for many people my age we feel as though we need to be on social media because it seems like “everyone else is.” The response I have to that is, they may have social media and yet they may feel exactly like you do at the end of using it. Just because other people also have social media doesn’t mean it doesn’t impact them at all.
I started to think about my decisions to use social media less as an empowering action. I was able to take control back over my mental illness by doing thisThere are many ways to decrease social media use. The first tip I have is leaving your phone plugged in somewhere outside your bedroom. This will help your sleep and help to avoid any negative triggers before bedtime.
Another thing I like to do is delete the app off my phone. If I really need to look at Facebook, I can do that on my computer. It takes longer to reach, which I think is beneficial because it helps prolong your decision making time. The act of having to log in on your computer may help you stop and change your mind.
Social media can be really tricky. The first step to taking back control starts with creating boundaries.
