Does Social Media REALLY makes us Unhappy and Depressed?

This is the era of Digital Revolution. Social Media platforms like Twitter, Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and many more platforms have revolutionized every aspect of human life. The way we connect , communicate ,learn , earn money and other fields of our life.

But at the same time it has impacted human minds so heavily that people are getting insecure , depressed and unhappy whenever they see someone posting on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

But why do we feel this way?

Well, there are so many theories based on this and I am not going to bore you with the philosophical details .But yes people who are deeply insecure will surely talk about this a lot.

When we start to compare ourselves to others , human minds are hardwired to find what that other person has which he himself doesn’t. That’s called Judgement which is it’s root cause.

What has social media REALLY done?

Social Media has just given us EXPOSURE and nothing else. Make no mistake , this not a blog saying about whether social media is a boon or bane. I am just talking about deep rooted reasons and truths by observing it from a neutral position.

Nobody wants to accept their own insecurities but they will find something else to blame the same. That’s the way society has influenced us. We see such people on a day to day basis who have influenced us to believe without questioning the true nature of the concept.

How can I solve this?

Well, the answer is easy but the execution is complicated. Here are the key ideas which you can try out:

1. Start asking right questions to yourself: No one in the world will understand you more than yourself. Start by asking more WHY questions and try to answer it honestly.
2. Journal the answers: Writing down those answers will help you gain acceptance about that issue.
3. Identify and Stay away from Toxic people : We have heard the quote : “We are defined by the 5 people who we spend the most time with ”. Don’t surround yourself with people who impose their judgement on you no matter how close you are. Setting boundaries should be the utmost priority.
4. Improve your soft skills: Building empathy , communication , mindfulness, awareness etc will help you build better mental health and will change your perception towards not only social media but also in any type of social environment. Having an open mind is also crucial along with the soft skills.

I know that you might think, how is this related to social media but trying to understand the root cause of the issue is the only way to completely solve the problem.

So to summarize , instead of blaming social media we can take a moment look into ourselves , observe our behavior and and build practices to overcome our own securities is the shortest way to be HAPPY on social media.