This is a really helpful article from Thorn about child sex trafficking, and it contains a lot of good information about how to learn more, how you can help, how to make a report etc. What I also found interesting were these two points that might have been listed under what NOT to do: “Be…
I think that second quote is really the key. We’ve seen studies that are reported as showing that kids who use social media get more depression and anxiety, but those studies do not address the question of whether there’s any proof that the causality is in that direction and not the other. In other words, do teens who use social media a lot develop depression, or do depressed teens use social media more. This study seems to indicate it’s the latter. As we continue with a lot of social distancing, and activities being canceled and in person gatherings are very limited, we know everyone will be relying more on social media to stay connected, so this is an important question, and I think what this study, and others, really shows us is that there are ways to use social media as a positive influence on our mental health, and a way to use it that will not be a positive influence on our mental health.
In the physical world, we have these same choices. Do we interact with people who are toxic? Do we spend all of our time comparing ourselves to others? Do we isolate? Or do we find out tribe, our group of supportive friends/family that can interact socially in ways that help our mental health?
We all make those same choices on social media, but the key difference here is that if we simply don’t choose, and make no effort to make conscious decisions about who we follow and interact with, social network algorithms will make the decision for us. Anyone already struggling with mental health is maybe more likely to not spent much time thinking about these things, and just let the app show them what it wants to show them, and that is not necessarily going to be good for our anxiety. Especially right now.
So, if you find yourself feeling more anxious, angry, irritated, etc. every time you hop on Twitter or Instagram, maybe instead of just being that way, spend some time thinking about who you follow, and what they are bringing in to your life?
For any of my social media using readers, can you share some of your favorite positive accounts that you interact with to HELP your mental health?
I’m sure many of you will not be surprised to read this: “In one of the most thorough and prolonged behavioral studies ever conducted, Harvard University researchers surveyed and scrutinized a group of 724 men from 1939 to 2014, arriving at a simple yet instructive conclusion. Harvard professor Robert Waldinger, director of the center conducting the…
As you may know, I am a believer that technology can help us keep in touch, especially if, like me, you have relocated and aren’t geographically close to some of your closest friends and family members. I was reading the article today about Australian nursing home residents and other elderly people, and the use of…
The Life is Good Company is putting out the challenge to get the #SOMETHINGOOD hashtag trending, surely we can help them spend some money on their kids foundation, right? “To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we’re shifting the conversation toward all that’s good and helping kids in need. For every #SomethingGood shared, $1 will be donated…
It’s not so much that social media itself creates disconnect, but rather the way we use it. “Authenticity is required for connection. The internet and social media do not disconnect us because we are glued to our phones at the dinner table but because they increase our ability to be inauthentic. They allow us to…
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