Over 3.96 billion people are active on social media in 2020. Stats don’t lie. For most of us, we couldn’t miss a day without checking our social media accounts. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Social media has allowed us to easily connect with people who matter to us, especially at this time of social distancing and isolation. We can also be updated with the latest news and it’s an excellent source of information and entertainment. But social media is also like a double-edged sword. It can help make things better for you or it can break you.
While social media is meant to create and maintain connections, it can also negatively affect our emotional and mental health. We must be mindful of how it is actually making us feel.
Using social media has a way of stimulating the brain’s reward system to release dopamine. This is a chemical that makes us feel good and is linked to pleasurable activities like food, sex, and social interaction. Social media platforms are designed to be addictive. That’s when social media becomes detrimental. Moreover, there have been studies that show that the use of social media can be associated with anxiety, depression, and even physical illness.
What makes social media addictive?
The question is why do people keep coming back for more even if it no longer makes them feel good? Social media is compared to a slot machine. You can win, or you can lose, but the point is there is a possibility of a future reward so people continue to play it. Like a slot machine, we never know how many likes a photo or a post will get and who will like it. The potential desired outcomes keep people engaged with these platforms.
Many social media users post content hoping to get positive feedback. This boosts self-esteem and gives them a sense of belonging. That and the possibility of future rewards are a perfect combination to make many people constantly check these sites.
When Social Media Becomes Unhealthy
But what if we didn’t get the reaction that we hoped and wanted? To make it worse, upon checking other’s posts you tend to compare yours and theirs. How come this person got more likes than I did? What happens when you tend to seek validation on the internet instead of focusing on making real meaningful connections?
It’s natural for human beings to want to belong and not get left behind. Since everybody you know is on social media sites, you also want to join in because you’re afraid of missing out. You don’t want to miss out on jokes, trends, connections, etc. Missing experience can cause anxiety and depression. With social media, it’s easier to know if you didn’t get included in an activity.
Social media also creates false realities and sets wrong expectations. It is easy to make pictures flawless and these heavily curated posts tend to set unrealistic standards. Despite this common knowledge, people are still easily deceived and end up doing unhealthy comparisons.
More Than Just Likes: What Really Bothers Us When We Didn’t Get the Reactions We Want
Most of the time, it’s not just a matter of how many likes we get or what comments we receive. For many people, social media has become their security blanket. When we find ourselves in a social situation and feel lonely, awkward, or anxious, we resort to our phones and check social media. Turning to social media gives you an excuse to engage in face-to-face interaction and that can lessen anxiety.
Heavy use of social media might only be masking other underlying problems, for instance, boredom, stress, and even depression. If you find yourself being on social media when you are feeling low, sad, alone, or bored, chances are you are using it as a way to keep yourself from experiencing unpleasant feelings or to seek comfort and refuge.
The truth is using social media to make us feel better can do only so little and most of the time do the opposite. A 2018 British study has linked social media use to disrupted sleep that can contribute to depression, decreased academic performance, and memory loss, particularly among teens. It can even negatively affect our physical health. Anxiety caused by social media for instance can cause nausea, muscle tension, and headaches.
How Emotional Energy Healing Can Help Combat Negative Effects of Social Media Usage
Not everyone of us can just simply sign off forever to our social media accounts. For some, it is even necessary to be active on social media. That’s okay, especially when deactivating all our social media accounts is not really the answer to ending our anxiety or any other problem. As mentioned previously, heavy use of social media is often just a symptom of an underlying issue. This is where Emotional Energy Healing, a form of Intuitive Energy Healing comes in. If you’ve heard of Reiki, Emotional Energy Healing is a step up from Reiki and is three to five times more effective than Reiki.
People who seek validation and self-worth through social media usage more often than not have negative emotions trapped inside their body causing insecurity and negative thoughts. Through Emotional Energy Healing, the negative emotions that are stuck in our body are safely and naturally released. This type of healing is able to identify what and where the blocked negative emotions are. Emotional Energy Healing is able to release these emotions that affect our behavior so we are freed from it.
What makes this even better is that this type of healing is not just a temporary solution. This emotional energy release also helps in altering our subconscious thought patterns in a way that we no longer tend to react the same way if ever a similar situation happens. Thus, Emotional Energy Healing is a great and effective way to improve a person’s overall well-being. It is complementary to other medical therapies and practices. It is usually paired with psychotherapy to give a more holistic treatment.
Be mindful of how social media makes you feel. Use it wisely. Use it to create and keep long-lasting healthy relationships and connections. If its usage is draining you, take some time off. If social media is your means to distract yourself from emotional pains and other problems, try Emotional Energy Healing to address the root cause of the problem. A few sessions could really do the trick. Learn more about in-person and distant Emotional Energy Healing services here.
