Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about social media and while I’m a firm believer in the benefits of it, I will always encourage people to limit it just as they would anything else in life. However between the recent reports from the undercover adults that attended high school for a period to time, to what I’m seeing in real life, I am leery of where this is all going.
I’ve always felt that if you can’t see social media for what it is, a glossy highlight reel of things that make people happy and rightfully so (I’d much prefer that over constant “downer” posts), then you shouldn’t be on it. I myself have detoxed from time to time and I was super reluctant to get back on Facebook when I began coaching. It’s also the reason why I used to keep my friends list under 100 and I’ve never been one to post much on my personal accounts. Many of us have read the findings on how excessive social media use is correlated to depression, etc., so this is not just a “few people” or “teen” problem… this is everywhere.
The further we go down this rabbit hole, the more evidence there is that we are the first guinea pigs for this strange online world where appearances can be deceiving and people are suffering as a result. So you can imagine how I feel knowing that my page triggers people based on everything from parenting, to body image, to God-knows-what and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect my real-life relationships. I am well aware that I am a blank slate, a mirror which people can easily project upon and hate based on whatever demons they’re currently battling, just as my triggers are for me.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that mental health and emotional intelligence is paramount to me, therefore I think it’s important that everyone recognizes and addresses his/her own insecurities but ideally, in a healthy manner. I honestly think we all know enough to spend less time online and to be smart about where our attention goes but are we doing that? Evaluate how you feel after you eat, after an interaction with another person, and after screen time. This is how you learn to guard your spirit, where health begins and ends.