How Social Media affects health ?

• 
  
  

Social media is awful and whatever pleasures it confers in the form of mildlyamusing memes or a  sense of community/belonging are massively outweighed by its well-documented downsides.

How many internet users are there ? 

4.57 Billion people are active internet users as per April 2020 which includes

 4.2 -billion mobile internet users

3.81-social media users 

3.76 -mobile social media users

According to a study by California University around 90% of 18-19 years old students are on social media .

Anything we are spending this much time has a lasting effect on us. 

So let me introduce to the  common stressors on social media, that if  go unchecked have potential to become full –blown mental health issues .

1.Highlight Reel 

Just like in sports the highlight reel is a collection of the best and brightest moments . Social media is our personal highlight reel .

It's where we put our wins or when we are feeling great with our friends and family.

“ We start troubling our self and struggle with the inner sense of insecurity because we begin to compare ourselves with everyone else’s highlight reel.

2. Triggers the release of dopamine.

Social media release the dopamine (the feel good hormone ) . Using MRI scans , scientist found that the reward  center in people's brain  are much more active when they are talking about their own views. Not so surprising – we all love talking about ourselves right.?

But it turns out that while 30-40% of face to face conversation involves communicating our own experiences , around 80% of the social media communication is self involved.  The same part of the brain related to motivation and love are stimulated by your social media use and even more . Our body is psychologically rewarding us for talking about ourselves online!

3. Feeling of missing out F.O.M.O and Addiction

It’s a light phrase 

 “Fear of missing out”

It is  actual social anxiety from the fear that you are missing a potential connection , event or opportunity.  

Regarding social media we are already experiencing , impairment similar to substance dependencies with every like you get a short of feel good chemical dopamine released. So when that grows when your social media use goes  increasing with time that’s when we see the rising level of anxiety and depression, the highlight reel ,the comparisons. 

4. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome 

Carpal tunnel syndrome may be a painful, progressive condition that happens when the median nerve within the wrist is compressed.

The three main symptoms related to CTS are:

Pain

Numbness

Tingling

Also referred to as median nervous disorder or median nerve compression, it's going to happen when a nerve swells, the tendons become inflamed, or something causes swelling within the carpal tunnel.

 

Self-help tips

The following may help reduce discomfort

Resting the hand and wrist: The more rest the hand and wrist get, the greater the prospect of relieving the symptoms.

Cold compress: Placing an ice gain the wrist may help when the matter flares up, but ice shouldn't be applied ice directly onto the skin.

Some medical professionals suggest:

1.Avoiding repetitive hand and wrist movements, where possible

2.Paying attention to the hands and wrists and stopping activities on feeling pain, discomfort, or numbness

3.Taking frequent breaks if activities that involve repetitive hand movements are unavoidable

4.Trying to stay the wrist during a neutral position without extending the wrist too far up or flexing it too far down.

5.Using the most important joints possible when lifting, like the shoulder, to avoid extra stress on the wrists, hands, and fingers.

6.Not holding objects within the same way for too long.

5. Computer Vision Syndrome

It’s symptoms are 

• Eyestrain 

• Blurred vision

• Eve pain

• Red pain

• Tearing

• Fatigue

• Headache

The American optometric Association says this growing condition affects us many as 70% of people who work on computer.

How to treat CVS ?

1. Remember to blink 

2. Maintain good posture 

3. Take breaks 

4. 20-20-20rule(Every 20 minute you take 20 seconds to focus your eyes on something that’s 20 feet away 

5. Spend time with colleagues.

6. Adjust screen position(20 inch away from eyes )

6 Phantom Vibration Syndrome

It is a relatively new psychological phenomenon where you think you left your phone off but it didn’t. In one study 89% test subjects said they experienced this at least once every two weeks .It would seem that our brains now perceive an itch as an actual vibration from the phone .

As crazy as it seems , technology has begun to re wire our “Nervous System” and our brain  being triggered in a way never  seen before in history.

Social media is neither good nor bad.

When we are talking about the dark side of social media what we really talking about is dark side of people.

We need to take 

• Preventive strategies and 

• Coping strategies

 STEPS TO SOCIAL MEDIA WELLNESS 

1. Limit when and where you employ social media.

 You’ll connect better with people in your life if you've got certain times every day when your social media notifications are off – or your phone is even in airplane mode plan to not checking social media during meals with family and friends, and when twiddling with children or talking with a partner confirm social media doesn’t interfere with work, distracting you from demanding projects and conversations with colleagues. especially , don’t keep your phone or computer within the bedroom – it disrupts your sleep.

2.Detox 

Schedule regular multi-day breaks from social media. Several studies have shown that even a five-day or week-long break from Facebook can cause lower stress and better life satisfaction. you'll also crop without going cold turkey: Using Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat just 10 minutes each day for 3 weeks resulted in lower loneliness and depression. it's going to be difficult initially , but seek help from family and friends by publicly declaring you're on an opportunity . 

3. Concentrate to what you are doing and the way you are feeling 

Experiment with using your favorite online platforms at different times of day and for varying lengths of your time , to ascertain how you are feeling during and after each session. And if you discover that taking place a Facebook rabbit burrow in the dark routinely leaves you depleted and feeling bad about yourself, eliminate Facebook after 10 p.m. Whenever possible, focus your online interactions on people you furthermore may know offline.

4. Approach social media mindfully; ask ‘why?’

If you check out Twitter very first thing within the morning, believe whether it’s to urge informed about breaking news you’ll need to affect – or if it’s a mindless habit that is a shake facing the day ahead. does one notice that you simply get a craving to seem at Instagram whenever you’re confronted with a difficult task at work? Be brave and brutally honest with yourself. whenever you reach for your phone (or computer) to see social media, answer the hard question: Why am I doing this now? Decide whether that’s what you would like your life to be about.

5. Prune

Over time, you've got likely accumulated many online friends and contacts, also as people and organizations you follow. Some content remains interesting to you, but much of it'd be boring, annoying, infuriating or worse. now's the time to unfollow, mute or hide contacts; the overwhelming majority won’t notice. And your life are going to be better for it.  

Conclusion

At last , social media is, and can still be, harmful, unless something is completed about it the facility it's over people is dangerous and sometimes goes unnoticed. Social media stunts interpersonal growth and increases narcissism in many internet users. Albeit the user isn't psychologically suffering from social media, they're still in peril . Nobody is resistant to the harmful side effects social media including fraud , stalkers, or hackers. “The dark side of social media is that, within seconds, anything are often blown out of proportion and brought out of context. And it's very difficult to not get swept up in it all” If there are not any regulations or limitations on social media, the repercussions will accumulate. People got to change the destructive patterns of social media use before it destroys society. The fast, quick access to information that's alleged to be beneficial to society is really detrimental to society.