In this week’s news, you may have noticed a Whistleblower from Facebook named Frances Haugen. She has come out and said that Facebook pushes content that elicits anger. This content is like conspiracy theories, hate speech, politically divisive statements, and so much more. The clip goes on to say how Facebook pushes content to young girls that have shown to have an increase in eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation. Why? Because Facebook makes more money the more you use the app. Here are 5 things to keep in mind when engaging with social media.
1. Be skeptical about everything you see on social media
When someone posts something on social media it’s impossible to give you the whole story. You are only seeing a snapshot in time with very little context. The classic ‘pray for me. I am going through a hard time but I can’t say why’ post that leads us down a whirlwind of thoughts of what they possibly could be going through. Divorce? Death? Job loss? We don’t know but we start to make guesses in our head. Interpreting their post that fits a narrative in our head.
This also applies to pictures. When you look at a picture you are likely seeing a filtered version of reality. You are also only seeing that second in time. You don’t know what’s going on in that person’s head, what they did before and after that picture was taken, or how many times they retook the picture. You might see a friend who takes a perfect picture every time and she always looks so happy. What you don’t see are the 3 apps she had to use to make herself look perfect and the tears she cries at night because she still feels incredibly lonely, even though her pictures get thousands of likes.
2. Assume everything is filtered
Pictures and stories. You can’t possibly know the full extent of someone’s story from a photo or 30 seconds to 3-minute video. They give you the filtered, perfectly sculpted version. No one posts photos of themselves they hate. When we see videos or photos we begin to put our own narrative to whatever we are seeing. If we are feeling bad about our body we go looking for the bodies we deem to be pretty. We then compare our bodies to theirs and we feel bad. This leads to not eating, binging, self-harm, or other destructive behaviors.
What you see on social media is not real. It’s a fraction of the truth or a lie altogether. People post what you want them to see. This goes for people, companies, news outlets, robots. They all have agendas on social media and they will post according to their agenda.
3. Take regular breaks/detox from social media
Taking breaks from social media can allow you time to center yourself and give space for your feelings and thoughts. It also provides more time to really connect with those around you instead of finding out about their life through an app. When I say breaks I mean delete the app from your phone and don’t reinstall it for at least 24 hours. Ideally longer. You need space away from societal messages to figure out where you are at with yourself.
4. Be mindful of how much time you spend on it
I challenge you to get an app that tracks how much time you spend on social media. Better yet an app that will disable the social media app when you go over your limit. How much time do you think you spend on social media a day? There has been a lot of research showing time on social media affects your mental health. I challenge you to write down how you feel before you get on social media. Scale it from 1-10 on your distress level and then check back in to see if you feel better or worse after getting off. This is a great exercise to do when you are trying to figure out what actually makes you feel better.
If you are feeling down. Don’t get on social media, you will just make it worse. We call this confirmation bias. You will seek out the validation that you suck on social media because you will see how great everyone else’s life is compared to yours. Remember social media is a giant lie. Your life doesn’t suck, you’re having a sucky moment. Give it time to pass and practice some healthy coping skills.
5. Turn on your notification on all social media
Turn off your notification. You don’t need to be reminded that social media is there. You know it’s there. You don’t need notification about every like or comment you get. The more you click on those notifications the more notifications you get. When you don’t get the notification after posting something do you begin to wonder why no one has commented or liked your post? If these are thoughts you are having you are attributing your worth to other people’s thoughts on you. Your worth comes from you, no one else.
Tell me in the comments other tips you have for social media usage.
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