How is social media eating your Brains out?
How is social media eating your Brains out?: “Social media” is a term that sounds very pleasant and simple but is that so? people often keep on scrolling on social media nowadays. Some of them might be having a time restriction and awareness about social media but most of them ended up developing an addiction. So now let’s look at the harmful impacts that it holds for you then we’ll self-evaluate ourselves and figure out in which group we lie then we’ll discuss how to fix and control this endless flow of addiction and be productive and focused in life.
Impact On Mental Health
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter contribute to feelings of anxiety and depression. Users often find themselves constantly comparing their lives to the seemingly perfect and glamorous moments shared by others. Whether it’s images of holidays or exciting nights out, this creates a sense of missing out.
This comparison mindset creates a negative attitude, where individuals feel they fall short and are not living up to certain standards. This nature of social media posts, especially through embellished photos and videos, often leads people to believe in a reality that may not accurately reflect the truth. Consequently, this can result in a sense of unhappiness as users internalize the notion that they are not good enough based on these misleading portrayals.
Addiction
The addition of social media is very dangerous. As it stimulates your organic flow of hormones (dopamine: which is a happy hormone). We all have developed a habit of grabbing our phones as soon as we wake up thinking it’ll only take a second but end up giving hours and hours. This is why it is specially designed in that way its algorithms stimulate our brain and once we have that high dopamine rush our brain just needs more. And at the end of the day, we spend countless hours for nothing. (How is social media eating your Brains out?)
Sleeping issues
There is a blue light emission from every tech device we use, which tricks our Brian into believing that it’s not the time to sleep yet which causes us to use phones for longer periods and once we get habitual to sleeping late then our brain clock is adjusted and secluded to sleep late every day. And even if we sleep late then also most of us have to go to work every day which results in less sleep every day and we all know how bad that is, mood swings, weak immunity, chronic diseases, impaired memory, and many more issues happened just do to lack of sleep.
Productivity Damage
As we discussed earlier how everyone has the habit of using phones the moment they wake up. Now if you are a working individual or a student this is poison as social media is designed in a manner that you’ll just keep spending time on it and will lose all your sense of time and work. You might also encounter such influencers who will showcase that it is okay for you to be lazy or to procrastinate they do it just for engagement as most people are lazy spending countless time on social media, but we always forget to acknowledge it. (How is social media eating your Brains out?)
Most feel that type of content is relatable to them and also that this is fine as everyone is having the same problem. But people often fail to realize that no matter how many people are having the same problem it is still a problem and needs to be addressed but rather people get influenced which kills their productivity in their work.
Isolation
Social media creates a bubble around you which deflects real people out. Humans are social beings for us interaction with other humans is a necessity to learn, gain, and grow, even for our ethical and moral values, and also to live peacefully and happily. But nowadays we see that even while having food people don’t have their eyes on the plate but on the phone instead.
This has become common in our homes while dining with our own family, we are running towards some pixels and forgetting what is truly precious to us. This annoys the people around us, causes conflicts between family members, and damages our bond with the real people we have in our lives.
Lowers self-esteem
When people consume social media they start to believe everything they see is real and start to have unrealistic expectations about life. In social media you see people using filters, lighting tricks, and clever angles that make people look perfect. If you spend too much time on social media, you might start feeling unhappy and less confident when you compare your life to others who seem to have more successful careers and happier lives. It can make you feel like your own life isn’t as good as theirs.
And this is not a good thought to hold, cause what they are doing is fake and for business and reach and that is not how people actually live their life. This also tricks people into believing in materialistic happiness and you miss out on the most important aspect of life which is being happy.
Damages creativity
Creativity needs a calm and focused environment but with social media, it is impossible to attain as it keeps on hindering our thoughts and not letting us think about a particular subject for a longer period. Resulting in us getting distracted and losing the attention and space that creativity needs. And this is again something that we can’t afford to have if we’re working in a creative field or even if we’re a student thinking of an assignment.
How to take back the control of your life?
See as we are well aware social media has become a nonremovable part of life. It’s like a wave in water so rather than getting flown away by it learn to surf on it. We will begin with self-evaluation, firstly start monitoring yourself through digital well-being present on your phone or on any other tech devices you use so you will know how much of your time is getting burnt every day for absolutely no reason which is getting you nowhere.
Then we will set some rules and make a routine for our social media time and usage, one major thing never start your day with social media as once you have that dopamine spike (a hormone that is released to make us feel good and happy) you will not feel like working and your focus and time will completely be lost. So always try to access social media towards the end of the day when most of your productivity is already achieved for that day. In this manner, you won’t lose your momentum while working. The third major thing to look for is, don’t access social media during your sleep hours as it will trick your brain into believing that it’s not bedtime yet and you’ll end up messing up your sleep.
By implying these small changes in your life you can take back the control of your life. Just don’t let social media stimulate your brain, have a natural flow of hormones in your body and stay organic. You will see the changes in a few days only after this. You’ll be happy satisfied and productive too and even your loved ones will be happy for you and you’ll fix your bonds and relationships with them.
Advice for Parents and guardians
The adults or parents should make some rules for the usage of phones, as they are not allowed while eating, and have a chat with your children every once in a while which will help them in breaking the isolation bubble and also get them closer to the real world and real people. And also as parents, many of us treat social media and TV the same but you must know that it’s not the case. You have to keep a check on your young ones about what type of content they are consuming on social media and what is being imposed on their minds as they can’t differentiate between right and wrong yet. In order to avoid any mental or physical health issues and for them to have a happy life this is something you have to take responsibility for as parents.
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I am currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from AAFT University. With a strong foundation in public speaking, I have represented my schools in various debate and group discussion competitions, earning several accolades. Currently serving as the Vice President of the Research and Development Club at my university, I have also presented research papers at international conferences, showcasing my passion for academic inquiry and media studies.
