Social media anti-stress use guide

The importance of remaining human: Guide for anti-stress use of social media

Hi Marketer! Today, we will talk about a somewhat special and unusual subject compared to the content that you usually find on these pages.

Our relationship that we have every day with social media.

Returning from a period that saw us staying at home for several months, when billions of people flocked on the net, the effects of this digital lock began to be felt for a certain time, especially in countries always involved by the pandemic.

These are not visible effects with the naked eye and the sun, but the consequences of an erroneous and excessive use we make of these digital means.

The situation is even more serious in the United States, at the moment country in the eye of the cyclone after the now very famous episodes of racism, social inequality and an electoral campaign on our doors.

The time has therefore come to stop and reflect on some of the damage and harmful behavior that social media has caused over the years, while understanding at the same time how we can promote a more conscious and digital use of these means.

Ready? Let’s start!

Let’s start with the alarm ringtones, that is to say from these moments that make us understand that we may have an exaggerated tunes:

• Before you fall asleep, you think of the number of likes that your last message on Instagram will have arrived
• You become nervous or try a feeling of vacuum if no one comments or like your online content
• I often discuss the comments section and end up feeling sensations such as anger and frustration
• The interactions you have with your friends on social networks are worse, the relationship you have with them live
• The first thing you do after opening your eyes in the morning is to check the mobile phone
• Before sleeping, spend more than an hour on your mobile phone, ending with sleep and you wake up little rested

You will probably have tried at least one of these sensations during life, the problem is when these events are repeated cyclically every day.

In Portal Helpguit.org explains this phenomenon by describing it as a vicious circle:

«When we feel anxious or stressed, we take refuge in social media in search of validation and acceptance, when this does not happen, we tend to emphasize our negative sensations even more, at the same time the FOMO (fear of missing – this feeling that brings us back spasmodically to social media for fear of losing the last photo published by friends or the latest notifications) approximate.

The locking paradox was (and continues to be in many countries) that of having the only escape of reality in social media, an escape which at the same time hides negative and stressful sensations for many users.

A feeling easily comparable to an abstinence of drugs, nicotine or sugars.

All this seems to underline a negative compromise, if we had to put the pro and against the diligent use of social media on balance, what faction would you win?

Another interesting point to mention is the classic effect of the «echo chamber»

Social media often acts as a sounding board for the things we love, our ideals, our opinions, our musical tastes and our political guidelines.

This may create a virtual bubble where each of our opinions is never refuted or questioned, thus causing a lack of authentic confrontation.

In summary: social media tends to confirm things that we already know and has often not added essence and value to our lives.

Of course, social networks can also offer leisure and help connect in the blink of an eye with anyone we want, to avoid the side effects that we do not believe that the extreme solution (abandon it forever) is the right one.

Let us see what a healthy gray area can be that promotes responsible use of these applications:

• Avoid discussions or comments: If you spend several hours a week to discuss the Facebook or LinkedIn pages in the context of articles, you might think about stopping or taking a break in participation in these debates.

• Stop following those who create negative emotions: If there are people who put you in a bad mood, for any reason, avoid suffering passively from their contents and stop following them, this will help you focus more on yourself.

• Take a period of social detoxification: Start in a small one, for example when you are in the company, try not to touch the phone for at least 10 minutes, then 20 and 30, trained to detach yourself more and more from the smartphone and to be present at the moment, you will notice how interesting people are live rather than behind a large screen (if I have to contact someone?

• Leave the phone at home: Obviously, not in the totalizing sense of the term, in the small daily commissions, we could think of leaving the phone in our house and enjoying a period of time for ourselves.

• Do not «humanize» what you see behind the screen: No, I do not refer to the aesthetic perfection blocked by Instagram, now we will all have to know that this perfection does not correspond to reality, I speak instead of the online «personality» that each person has or all the behaviors that use in social media.

Online behavior does not represent a mirror of our true personality, if you do not find yourself a dear friend in a certain way, try not to focus on the negative emotions that arouse you, but try to reconnect with him in real life, you will realize that what you see every day on your smartphone is only a reflection of anyone.

The final antidote of social media is innate in our desire to remain human.

And what do you think, have you ever tried some of the negative sensations that we talked about? And if so, how did you face them?

Let us know below in the comments

See!