Type: Resource:

The world is big enough for all of us: Social Media and Mental Health

A guest resource written by Trishala Hansdah
The world is big enough for all of us: Social Media and Mental Health image

Social media dominates our lives more than we think it does. There aren’t many of us who can go about our day doing anything productive or fancy without thinking about sharing it on social media first. It has become such a big part of our lives that it’s hard to stay away from it. We live in a time where social media addiction is real. While the research studies on this continue, it goes without saying that social media may tend to do more harm than good from a mental health perspective.

Let’s take Instagram for example. Instagram allows us to be creative in means that was never possible before. It’s a great place to take inspiration from because of the sheer number of accounts catering to literally everything under the sun. For those of us who may not be creatively gifted, it’s a great medium to share things about our lives with our loved ones. Yet, many of us fall into the trap of comparing ourselves and our lives with others’ and focusing on how we are falling behind. Even though everything that we see is just 5 minutes of a person’s day, we immediately tend to attach an identity to them and assume that we know everything about their lives. Subconsciously, we all know this, but we can’t seem to stop ourselves.

As much as we’d like to avoid becoming a slave to our smartphones, digital detoxes are much harder for those of us who work on our phones. From project submissions to work mails, it becomes increasingly difficult for us to just switch our phones off as we move from one stage of life to another. Logging off from all social media is also hard because we’re so used to the mindless scrolling and story-watching as a way to alleviate boredom. Not doing so brings in what they call, FOMO.

So, where do you find that balance of using social media while still not falling into that dangerous rabbit hole of comparison and insecurity?

You May Also Want To Read

Feeling Your Feelings, And Learning To Process Them | Image

Feeling Your Feelings, And Learning To Process Them

Emotions are an integral part of our human experience. It’s normal, natural and healthy to experience them on a day-to-day basis. Emotions can be a response to what we see, hear, feel, or think. There are many factors that influence our emotions and feelings such as our current moods, thoughts, memories and meaning that we make of events around us.

April 15, 2022 Read More

Rebirth | Image

Rebirth

A guest post.

You know, there was this girl once.

I used to like her a lot, not in a romantic way, but I did have a deep love for her, and I like to think that she liked me too. We had all these great childhood memories together, memories of us dancing in the rain in the backyard, of our fair visits and doing all the scary rides and eating cotton candy later on, of reading books or playing in our den under the blanket, and of building our tree house and chasing away every intruder.

January 13, 2019 Read More

Mocks and taunts are the sparks of wildfire | Image

Mocks and taunts are the sparks of wildfire

A guest post.

While I stood there frozen in place

My beating heart tried so hard to mend me, to melt from the inside out

January 13, 2019 Read More

Let's talk about family | Image

Let's talk about family

A guest post.

Before you start reading this, I want you to take a pen and paper and answer this - What does ‘home’ mean to you? Hold on to this question because this will remain the central point of this post.

June 21, 2019 Read More

A bright red sticky note | Image

A bright red sticky note

A guest post.

The world i see is a dull shade of grey that covers the walls of a sad and lonely hospital hallway leading to the morgue. My world is, in fact, just like those walls. Holding days and nights of painful cries and worried thoughts.

March 6, 2019 Read More

You already have the skills, intentions, and the know-how to care for your mental health. Learn how we can help you discover them 🙂 Find Counsellors.
Support Groups & Sharing Spaces.
Self Care Events.
Stories & Resources.
Helplines.