Impact of social media on mental health

Social media is training us to compare of lives instead of appreciating everything we are. No wonder why everyone is always depressed.

-BILL MURRAY

                                               

   

SOCIAL MEDIA involves various platforms on the internet which are being significantly used to contact friends and family. It has given a boost to the world economy by increasing communication among different countries and promotion trade. People use numerous social media applications like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn etc. to network career opportunities, to form new friends across the world with common interests, while some use social media as a platform where they can share their thoughts, feelings, insights or emotions with others.

Social media is undoubtedly a boon for human civilization because it has brought the whole world together at one place where individuals can share their views and opinions, such healthy interactions are proven to be beneficial for the people as it helps in co-development and to enhance social skills.However, nowadays social media is being misused by some. They are using this platform as a way to spread hatred and propaganda against a person, group or whole community. Such individuals use social media as a medium to manipulate people by spreading hate speech and fake news which orient individuals thoughts and opinions on numerous matters in a negative direction. This may lead to development of inappropriate or destructive behaviour among people which will be against the welfare of the society. Spread of offensive religious views or the fake news on social media about a particular community can lead to misunderstanding or conflicting opinions among different groups, violence is a general outcome of such scenarios. Shading light on the negative side of social media in which generally two types of individuals are involved, one who spreads hatred and the second who is victim of such hatred. There are thousands of content creators and millions of content viewers in the world. These content consumers usually use social media as a way to enjoy and take a break from their exhausting and busy life. However, some individuals use social media as a way to unleash their stress and frustration by indulging in negative activities like insulting, manipulating and spreading hate against people or a group in order to fulfil their agenda or to satisfy their ego. They write personal comments regarding random people or particular person without thinking about the consequences of their actions. Have we become so irresponsible and immature that we can't even think two steps ahead about what impact our actions could usher in the longer term and what is going to be the result of such negative behaviour on the victim and the way this can negatively impact their psychological state and life. One hatred comment can affect the victim's mental health. There is a thin line between positive and negative criticism, positive criticism is a constructive criticism in which individual is criticized for its action in a way that it didn't hurts its feelings instead it encourage him/her to improve for good and these days social media is jam-packed with negative criticism and positive criticism is rarely seen, therefore it will be no wrong to say that plenty of negativity resides within social media and one has to be very careful while using it as it can make as well as destroy lives in a span of seconds.Social media may trigger feelings of inadequacy. People may feel as though their life or appearance does not compare favorably with that of others on social media, leading to feelings of envy and dissatisfaction.

One should remember that social media is fake.We should not compare our lifestyle and the struggles to others because no one likes to share their miseries on social media.Our mental health is more important than anything. Everyone of us are concerned about the physical health, we do many things for our physical fitness but when it comes to mental health we are not that serious. This is the reason 85% of the population is under stress. There are plenty of things we can do to improve our mental health.

Firstly, we should love our life as it is after all no matter what it's our life. 

Methods to control hatred:-

There are various methods one can use to control hatred on social media and some of them are mentioned below:-

If you are receiver of hatred these methods can be useful:-It is important for you to understand that nothing is more important than your mental health.Protecting your mental health should be your priority.Ignore the negativity and continue to move forward, it is the best way to live happily and peacefully.There is no need to react to everything, not everything deserves your attention.Mediation and yoga can really help you to add positivity in your life.Distract yourself by learning a new skill or language.Don't stress about hatred, believe in yourself and simply give your best. Our deeds determine our destiny.It is necessary to take a break from social media occasionally; such productive digital detox can help to increase mindfulness and can reduce stress.

For the spreader of the hatred or just a normal user then these are some ways to control :It is important for you to understand that your comment or anything you write or post on social media is public and is viewed by hundreds of people.Avoid spreading news before verifying it; first verify the facts before forwarding any content. Don't be a carrier of fake news.Criticism is incredibly essential for the content creator in order to grow and improve. However, use of positive criticism as a medium to criticize others is good.View positive content and share the same with your loved ones, spreading positivity can bring the sparkles of positiveness in your life too.Abusing or insulting others is an inappropriate method of resolving stress and frustration, either try to meditate to calm yourself or consult a mental health professional whenever required.

It is necessary for each user to become "A RESPONSIBLE USER" "as the social media is the platform to spread the appropriate content to reach every corner of the world, so be the one who spreads positivity."

IT IS OKAY TO OWN A TECHNOLOGY, WHAT IS NOT OKAY IS TO BE OWNED BY A TECHNOLOGY.