Studies show that two-thirds of people find it hard to relax or even sleep after spending time on social media. Why do you let yourself feel stressed, anxious or have negative thoughts after using social media?
Why let social media affect your self-worth? Perhaps, it’s time for a self-evaluation and possibly a social media break? Here are five ways you let social media weaken your self-esteem.
(1) Your real world thoughts and interactions are influenced by social media
Thinking about social media
first thing in the morning and last thing before you go to bed is not
healthy. You’re allowing yourself to develop a dependence for it that
can work against you in the not-too-distant future. If you can’t find a
clear distinction or draw a fine line between your real world life and social media life, you are letting social media gradually erode your self-esteem.
(2) Your thoughts and feeling about yourself are influenced by social media
The moment you become aware of the fact that your feelings, thoughts and perceptions of yourself are being affected by social media, it is time for a break, whether a brief break or an indefinite break. Social media
are not real life, you must never forget that. Getting likes should not
be a means of self-validation, also never forget this. On social media,
you see only what people want you to see; you hardly see a completely
true picture of their lives. It is unwise to base anything, especially
something as serious as thoughts and perceptions about yourself, on a
phenomenon as fleeting and facetious as social media.
(3) You can’t spend time alone without social media
Surely you should be able to spend time by yourself or engage in one or two activities without a visit to a social media platform. If you find face-to-face communications difficult, social media
aren’t helping matters. You need to be strong and come out of your
shell to have actual, tangible and real world relationships you can be
proud of. Besides, most social media relationships are typically shallow and not as emotionally gratifying as real world relationships.
(4) The need to share everything on social media
If this is you, please stop. A better alternative is to develop
real world relationships with people you can share your issues with,
rather than airing your dirty laundry before the world. Speaking to an
understanding person or even to a psychologist or church counsellor will
serve you better than social media. Don’t open yourself up to trolls and bullies that will derive pleasure in mocking your pain.
(5) You begin to measure your success by others
If all of a sudden, after joining one or two social media platforms, measuring your success and accomplishments by others is all you seem to do, that’s a warning sign. Social media
success doesn’t mean real life success. Even if it does mean real life
success, it’s wrong for you to make it a standard you have to live up to
when you know nothing about the said person’s success backstory.
You don’t know details of the person’s dealings and undertakings to
achieve that success, so why on earth should you try to copy it or
measure your success by it? Focus on your journey and be the best you
can be, take a break from social media if you need to.