While many of us enjoy using social media to stay connected our excessive use of media is fueling our addiction. This addiction can play a contributing role in the decline of our mental well-being. 

As humans, we find joy in communicating with those around us, and the strength of our connection plays a pivotal role in our mental health. Being socially connected to others can help ease stress, anxiety, and depression. On the flip side, lacking strong social connections can cause a decrease in your mental health. 

In today’s world, many of us rely on social media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok for both entertainment and to find connection with others. While being able to connect online is a great way to talk with others, it will never truly replace in-person communication. Ironically technology that has brought us together has also led individuals to be more isolated. This leads to an increase in mental health issues.

If you spend excessive time online and feelings of anxiety and depression are impacting your life it may be time to reexamine your online habits. When online you see what seems to be the “perfect” life, but most of the time that is far from the truth. Which can make people feel jealous and feel depressed that their life isn’t good enough.

FOMO is another feeling that social media can cause. Features such as snapmaps allow for teens to see where their friends are and who they are with. Leading kids to feel anxious or depressed that they did not get invited to hang out with their friends. Social media also causes a decrease in concentration as every time your phone lights up you are likely going to check the notification. 

Signs you need to take a step back from social media is when you start spending more time online than in-person with friends, comparing yourself to those online, and being easily distracted at school or work due to social media.

Steps to help guide you on a better relationship with social media include reducing your screen time, changing your focus to something more important than social media, and choosing to stay in the present with your friends and family when in person according to usnews.com.  While these steps are small, they will slowly make an impact on your life and you will find yourself to be present and mentally healthier than when you spent countless hours on social media.