Counseling in Katy, TX: Social Media Impacts Mental Health
Technology is absolutely wild. I remember my family getting their first cell phone when I was younger. One cell phone for the whole family, and it wasn’t to be played with. As I got older, cell phones became more advanced and easily accessible. Now, it seems like everyone has a smartphone in their pocket. Everyone has tiny computers at their fingertips! What do we use these tiny computers for? Mostly to look at silly cat videos, and scroll through social media. Social media has a grip on society and is digging its claws in for the long haul. Counseling in Katy, TX can help you manage the impact that social media has on your life.
Social media is not a bad thing. It connects people in ways that would not be possible without it. When being used in a healthy manner, social media creates new friendships, and shares information quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately there is an unhealthy side. Social media forces comparison among peers. Being hyper connected makes comparing ourselves to others quite simple. With a few clicks you are able to compare yourself to a large number of people. Constantly comparing yourself to others will cause you to seek validation for yourself. It’s easy to see how social media can become the center of someone’s life. The diligence people have for posting to or checking social media is incredible. How many pictures will someone take before they find the perfect one to post? It can become very time consuming and perception altering if you let yourself get sucked in.
The correlation of social media to mental health is very eye-opening. The continual comparison of yourself to the entirety of the internet can cause levels of depression, and anxiety to skyrocket. Take a moment to think about what happens when you decide to post something on social media. You carefully choose the photo, and artistically craft the words to portray exactly what you want. You are choosing what you are exposing about yourself to the internet, just as all those people living their perfect lives are doing the same thing. When comparing yourself to others on social media, you are comparing yourself to the highlights of their lives. This level of comparison can lead to unnecessary feelings of inadequacy, heightened feelings of stress, and a distorted perception of reality.
You don’t need to delete all of your social media (though taking a hiatus is never a bad idea), but you need to keep your mind open while you are scrolling. Realize that people are not perfect, even if they appear to be. Perfection is unattainable and unhealthy. Acknowledge that you are seeing what someone wants you to see. If you are struggling with the perpetual surge of social media, counseling in Katy, TX is here to help you manage that stress. We will work through the difficulty of managing a healthy level of social media toward a better, healthier you! Contact me to work together, today!
