Let’s Talk: Social Media Depression

In this age of social media, life can be just as hard as it can be easy. Admit it, you have all scrolled through your social media pages and flicked through the posts and pictures of your friends and felt sad at some point of your life.
Facebook, twitter and all sorts of social media might have made our life efficient and brought the world closer but it has also brought in all kinds of self-doubts and self-pity. You look at your friends partying the whole Friday night and feel bad about yourself for having to stay up all night to study for your exams, idling in your office cubicle; you scroll through your Facebook page and see your friends travelling across the world and feel blue thinking about how your boss acts whenever you ask him to grant you a leave. “I am not asking you to give me your kidney sir; it’s just a 2 day leave application”, you murmur to yourself. You find them checking in to the movie theatres to watch the latest movie while you are working overtime that night.
We all have been there. We compare ourselves to others and feel sad about our life. In a recent study, the researchers have found that the more time we spend on social media; the more likely we are to have a depression. The exposure to “highly idealized representations of peers on social media elicit feelings of envy and the distorted belief that others lead happier, more successful lives,” says the study.
Normally referred to as ‘Social Media Depression’, we can see that many young adults who have been quite addicted to the social media in the early days, are more pessimistic about their life. Have you ever felt so exasperated because of using Facebook too much that you deactivated it and spent a week or two without it? Oh! I have.
So, how do we pull ourselves out of this social media depression?
1. Stop comparing yourself to others
Well scrolling through pages we might want to compare ourselves but you should stop that immediately. Every smile in a selfie doesn’t indicate their happiness. They might have their own problems in their life. It’s just that you only see the happy moments in their insta and facebook.
2. Spend more time without technology
I am not a tech handicapped person and I love technology and its magic. But it has its own side effects too. Initially I used to use my cellphone a lot. I used to keep switching between cellphone and laptop, if not, TV. I used to keep using face book even when I’m commuting. Now, I have a book with me and I read it instead. And it really feels good.
3. Like pages that will help you in your personal growth
Join facebook groups and like pages like business insider or entrepreneurs if you want to get into business or find a similar pages and groups according to your interest and try to learn more about it. The best part is that knowledge is everywhere today because of internet and make the best out of this opportunity. Focus more on you and your growth instead of looking at other’s life and self-pitying.
4. Get into real friendships
Meet your friends time and again and don’t just talk to them on Facebook. Meet people personally and keep that touch real. Hang out in coffee shops, talk about your hobbies and things you love. Real connection is very rare these days. Treasure it.
Social media is a great way to keep in touch with all the happenings in the world. Sure. But, don’t let your connection (with your friends and yourself) limit itself to the virtual world.
