What do you do as soon as you wake up? Do you have the urge to immediately check your notifications? If yes, just know that you're not the only one! A lot of us have this habit of constantly checking our phones throughout the day, however, have you ever wondered how this affects your confidence, body image and self-identity? With the escalating situation of Covid-19 in Hong Kong, we are encouraged to stay at home. This increase in time spent at home correspondingly leads to more time on social media to distract and entertain ourselves. However, before you fall into the trap of your old habits, let's take a look at why social media is so addicting, the consequences and what actions you can take to improve this.
Why Is Social Media So Addicting?
The use of social media activates the reward centre in the brain which is also ignited when taking an addictive substance. This triggers a release in Dopamine raising our mood and feeling 'happier' in the short term. Another reason why social media is so addictive is the constant need to stay connected with people. Although social media provides a simple way to communicate, once we start to pressure ourselves to stay updated and connected this can be very overwhelming.
How Does Social Media Negatively Affect Us?
When we browse our social media's, such as Instagram, a big proportion of what users portray themselves as is not reality. With the rise in photoshop and filters, everyone seems flawless and perfect! This leads to a rise in expectations- especially for women to appear a certain way. The definition of 'beautiful' and 'perfect' become too narrow-minded and allow us to forget that our differences are what makes us unique. Young girls and teens have easy access to apps like Instagram and TikTok which if used wrong, can influence them to conform to such toxic beliefs affecting their self-image and confidence. In the past, trending hashtags such as #fitspo and #thinspo inspired many young women to appear a certain way as this will make them 'beautiful'. However, this lead to many developing eating disorders as they felt pressured to achieve their body goals. Although many of us are aware that what we see on the internet is not always true, we can still fall into the trap of comparing ourselves and feeling as if we are never enough.
How To Use Social Media For Your Benefit?
Follow people you care about and unfollow accounts that make you feel bad or compare yourself.
Establish a daily time limit for each social media app. This will prevent you from endlessly scrolling and instead, allow you to spend more intentional time on other activities.
Find supportive communities and trends to follow. The more aware and educated you are in realising that a majority of people only portray themselves in a good light on social media, you can observe and choose which trends and communities to engage in. Finding supportive communities is encouraging and allows you to accept yourself the way you are while being inspired by others instead of being jealous.
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