Technology is the fast ever, growing system integration that has helped us over the past years. It provides us with easier access to things such as smartphones. And with this particular device, it gets easier for us to communicate and get 24/7 updates with people through social media platforms.
Source: pixabay.com
Staying in touch is so much easier with our phones, and we love its convenience. With just a click of a button, we can learn and discover a lot of things. We can instantly get notified of people’s current achievements. We can check and access their private lives and look through their lifestyle changes.
But greater convenience requires immense responsibility. To clearly explain, it is not literally the social media platforms and websites that are causing mental health problems such as anxiety. Rather it’s the way we use it. It’s the addiction associated with constantly checking what’s new and what others are currently busy with. It’s the anxiousness of not knowing what’s supposed to be known.
Reality In Today’s Generation And Social Media
With the internet and technological advancement, it is hard not to get sucked and stuck in social media. We constantly tell ourselves that we can control it and only a couple of searches and scrolls will do while putting off our responsibilities. However, we find ourselves in a loop. The more we allow ourselves to get stuck with our phones, the more it becomes hard for us to let go of the device and quit social media.
Just imagine a situation where we don’t have a signal, no internet connection, and low battery, or we accidentally forget to bring our phones with us; the amount of anxiousness is building up. And just imagining that these scenarios can happen in multiple instances makes us want to be cautious more in these particular situations. And that is what social media anxiety is all about.
Source: pixabay.com
Mental Health Condition – Social Media Anxiety
Social media anxiety is almost like an addiction. It is where we constantly think about our phones because we want to see through the notifications and updates. And just hearing it pop a sound makes you want to grab and use it instantly. This anxious feeling is real, and it takes away the fun of using social media.
Another reason this social media anxiety flares up is our eagerness to know everything. We don’t want to miss out on trends. We experience this high regard for satisfaction from engagements, shares, and likes. And when we fail to achieve these rewarding feelings, we get mentally and emotionally unstable.
With this, it is imperative to check on ourselves to address the mental health issue. Social media anxiety can make us feel less aware of our surroundings. Like addiction, it makes us compulsively check our social media every few minutes. It makes us feel uncomfortable and anxious whenever we are not able to see what’s new and what’s in for the trend. It also makes us negate social interactions with real people and decreases our communication skills.
Source: pixabay.com
Ways To Get Rid Of Social Media Anxiety
Make It A Conscious Choice To Use Your Phone
If we make it a conscious choice to use our phone, it gives us an edge to be in control of what we do with it. We can have the option of whether we should use it for social media or just simply for communication purposes. And in line with real-time face-to-face conversation, scheduling our usage can give us the power to be in the present. Also, part of conscious awareness is the limits of the amount of social media we install on our phones. If we do not have a lot installed, the less we would want to engage with our phones.
Move Your Phone Away From An Easy Access
It might not be convenient at times, but moving or keeping our phones away and placing them somewhere else that is not easily accessible can help with social media anxiety. Let’s say we are talking to a friend in the living room, and it requires our full attention; we can keep our phones in different parts of the house, such as the bedroom or the kitchen. Knowing that our phones are far of reach gives us the feeling of not wanting to get them immediately. Thus, it saves us from mental and emotional agony.
Focus Your Attention To Something Else
Another way to exert control of social media anxiety is through the diversion of attention. Concentrating on other things instead of constantly thinking about our phones allows us to become more aware of our true needs and wants. We can also use this moment to think about our lapsed social media time as a chance to see more than we expect from the platform. This particular change of habit can instantly convert our anxiety into excitement.