Video: How to Stay Happy and Healthy on Social Media

1. Keep your phone out of your bedroom.
2. Adjust what you see on your feed.
3. Set some self imposed non-screen time.
4. Tell people you are detoxing.
5. Fill the void.

Video: Are You a Social Media Addict?

If you agree to 4 or more of these sentences, BBC says you may be a social media addict:

-You spend a lot of time thinking about social media and how to use it.

-You feel like you need to use it more and more.

-You use it to forget about your personal problems.

You have tried to cut down without success.

-You use it so much it has a negative impact on your work.

Also according to the BBC if you use social media for more than 2 hours a day, you are more likely to have anxiety and depression. They explain, the blue-light on your phone disrupts melatonin and sleep schedule, resulting in worse sleep which has a multitude of mental health consequences. Social media addiction is also associated with having a lowering income and quality of life and narcissisim. It also effects our personalities and how we think of ourselves. For examples introverts might often social media for “social compensation” and to interact without the nerve wracking impact of real life interactions.

Article: How Does Social Media Effect Stress?

BBC’s social media producer monitored her stress levels and social media usage for a week. She used three different monitors to probe her mental health well being called. The tools she used were called a Pip, Moment and Checky. The Pip measures stress levels, Moment is an app that measures how much time you spend on your phone and Checky keeps and eye on how much you check your phone. She said she learned three main lessons:

1. There is no Weekend Effect ,meaning the weekends didn’t make her less stressed. She came to the conclusion that she either goes online to escape stress or her time online makes her more stressed.
2. She checked her phone a LOT. On average, she checked her phone 70 times a day which is actually to be expected considering her job and that the average is 85 time a day. On Saturday hers was 154.
3. She went on her phone for escapism. Her using her phone was to forget her worries and personal problems. Social media makes us feel happier to a point, which is why she said she probably loved her job so much. She also noted your social feed is what you make of it, ex lurking on exes and stalking models would make you  feel one way versus filling your page with golden retrievers and food videos. In conclusion she found that comparing herself to other people is the root of what she thinks made her most stressed when using social media, but she still doesn’t see herself cutting back or putting her phone done anytime soon.