Do you check your social media accounts first thing in the morning? And how do you end your day? Perhaps you check in periodically throughout the day, but you’ve spent over an hour scrolling through recent posts before you know it. This is a somewhat regular occurrence. After all, social media usage is relatively standard. Whether you’ve just started using social media or have been doing so for years, you’ve probably heard about its possible detrimental effects on mental health. However, social media is not always a terrible thing, contrary to popular belief. Social media is like a coin with two sides. In other words, social media has the potential to be both detrimental and beneficial. Finding solutions to mitigate the negative aspects of social media while amplifying the positive aspects is crucial.

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The opportunity to compare yourself to others is abundant on social media. Scrolling through social media may make you envious of your friends’ lives, including their lavish vacations, spotless homes, close-knit, smiling, well-dressed families, and seemingly ideal bodies. When you see filtered slices of someone’s life, it’s easy to believe they’re living in total bliss, even if you’re not. People who use social media late at night are more likely to go to bed later, sleepless, and sleep worse. She claims that if you use social networking apps too often, you may spend less time on activities like interacting with others in person, spending time in nature, and caring for yourself in other tangible ways.

For the most part, before social media, your options for socializing were geographically limited. You might have found it challenging to make friends, mainly if you lived in a small town. Social media allows you to rapidly expand your inner circle outside your area, state, and continent. Whether you’re looking for support groups, instructive articles, or useful tools and advice, social media may connect you with a wealth of information. So, how do you use social media to promote rather than harm your mental health? Get curious about your behavior, avoid social media in the morning and evening, curate your content, and seek out alternative forms of entertainment. Finally, remember to be kind to yourself.