The Constant Need to be Active on Social Media Platforms

Nowadays, the one who likes or comments on your social media post can boost your happiness, satisfaction and confidence with the release of hormones like endorphins, dopamine and oxytocins. Social media platforms have become more than a platform for sharing your life, achievements and moments. They are acting as a source of external validation and likes from the people who are least concerned about your growth or happiness. People post certain things not because they wish to but, just because they don’t want to experience ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO).

There is this constant pressure to maintain an online image for the sake of approval and appreciation from others. You might be unknowingly and unconsciously addicted to the constant streaming of information and notifications on different social media platforms. Notifications may initially seem like a source of entertainment, but over time, they fulfill various needs and serve as a distraction.

Social media platforms help in forming and establishing virtual relationships with others. But, with the increasing use of it, people began feeling obligated to stay connected with others. The consumption of social media and the lifestyle reflected on it produces anxiety and insecurity in a person for lacking that lifestyle or resources. While observing the various marketing strategies you may have a desire for self-promotion or marketing which forces you to maintain an online presence.

The Consequences of this Constant Need to be Active on Social Media:

• Mental Exhaustion: Reduces productivity and causes burnout.
• Attention Span: Shortens attention span.
• Self-Esteem: Lowers self-esteem through unrealistic comparisons.
• Sleep Disruption: Disturbs sleep and causes deprivation.
• Social Isolation: Reduces real-world interactions and conversation skills.
• Creativity: Limits originality and encourages copying.
• Mental Health: Increases anxiety, loneliness, and cyberbullying.
• Physical Health: Leads to sedentary behavior, eye strain, poor posture, and chronic diseases.

Every coin has two sides so, social media platforms update us about what’s going on in the outside world, connect us with our dear ones and share our moments with them, and give us a chance to showcase our skills and promote ourselves with the help of marketing. But, we miss the negative side of dealing with social media platforms. You may feel that scrolling the screen of your phone doesn’t require much input but, it exhausts your mind and produces burnout sensations which might be reflected in the decreased productivity in the activities you perform past social media consumption. Prolonged and regular usage of social media platforms decreases the attention span of the user.

The unrealistic comparisons with other people on social media lead to decreased self-esteem and confidence. The maintenance of online posting disturbs the sleep-wake cycle of the user and leads to sleep deprivation. You may get so involved in the world of social media that it isolates you from the real social world and face-to-face interactions. This is one of the reasons why two individual find it hard to pick a conversation rather they find it easy to pick their smartphones and avoid that weirdness in the air.

It has also decreased the amount of originality and creativity in the ideas of people as either we copy-paste them for the sake of making up the time that social media consumes or we are fascinated by the ideas of others so much that we don’t consider exploring our original ideas. Most of all social media has a huge negative impact on our mental and physical health. Mental health is affected due to increased anxiety, sleep disturbances, cyberbullying, unrealistic comparisons, loneliness and isolation. Physical health is affected by sedentary behaviour, eye strain and vision problems, poor posture, increased risk of chronic diseases, and negative impact on gut health.

Things to Keep in Mind for Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Dependency on Social Media Platforms:

There are many reasons why human beings are considered one of the most complex creatures on earth. But, out of those we can use some to save ourselves from the slavery of social media like self-awareness, reasoning and problem-solving. So, while we are aware of the ill consequences of our dependency on social media, we can use our reasoning and problem-solving skills to rescue ourselves. We can’t cut our social media consumption but, we can set boundaries and limits on its usage.

We not only have to focus on decreasing social media consumption but, we have to find ways to increase the expenditure of our time, and energy on other important and productive things. We have to prioritize offline activities and self-care, and find alternative hobbies and interests with realistic goals and expectations. If we can practice self-control, then we may use social media by taking regular breaks or detoxes, focusing on meaningful connections and engagements, embracing imperfection and authenticity, and seeking support from friends, family or professionals. This way, we would be able to create a healthy and balanced online presence.