"Without social media, I can't live," explaining the harmful sides of social media.

SubTitle: Social media and its dark side: it’s time to open our eyes.

You know social media is the most used platform in our day-to-day lives, am I right? I mean, who doesn’t like to be connected with their friend? But as much as we love to spend our time on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., we all have to know about the dark sides of social media and how it can be harmful to our mental health.

I know, friends, you are thinking, "What’s this guy talking about?". Listen, I want to tell you something. There’s actually a lot of research that shows social media use can increase anxiety, loneliness, and sleep problems.

Social media is a great time consumer. When you start scrolling through your newsfeed and get likes, comments, and replies from your favorite person, you feel so happy and start to forget about your daily routine. Is this happening to you? If the answer is yes, then my suggestion to you is to please stop this. This will hamper your future.

It’s not just an addiction. It’s a big problem. Actually, when we start scrolling our newsfeed and watch something interesting, our brain releases dopamine, which is the same chemical that makes us feel happy when we eat our favorite food and spend time with our nearest person. We even don’t know how it kills our thinking capability, and obviously, it hampers our eye vision.

It’s also a fact that social media can play with our minds. We often see our friends and relatives posting their beautiful photos on their profiles. They enjoy their vacation in Cox’s Bazar, Sundorbon, and Kuakata and post their photos on social media. Then you think "Ahh, how much they enjoy their lives". In the meantime, you are busy with your assignment, quiz, midterm, and final exam. Trust me, friend, it’s just a showoff. No one is happy with their life. You are just comparing your lifestyle with your friends lifestyle. It’s called the "compare and despair" phenomenon, and it can seriously hamper your day-to-day life.

We always try to show off our profiles. For looking good, we use a photo editor and filter. Let’s talk about a dangerous thing: people used to talk to each other while traveling in trains or buses, but now they are busy with their mobiles. Hence, we can see how social media affects our day-to-day lives.

Now it’s time to search for our own happiness. We have to find accounts that make us feel unhappy and unfollow them. You know the one that makes you happy every day. You should know that social media has some positive sides too. If you want to know about foreigners, then you can easily find out about their culture, dress, and food habits through social media. You can also follow some motivational channels. Be creative, and don’t waste your time by watching Facebook reels.

From my personal experience, I always use Facebook for 5 to 6 hours a day. It hampers my eye vision, and I also face headaches at night. But now I just try my best to minimize this time.

Here are some tips from my side to minimize your Facebook usage time:

• Try to avoid Facebook reels.
• Actively manage your digital wellbeing from your phone settings and set a timer for apps.
• Avoid aimless scrolling.
• Unfollow and unfriend an unknown account.
• Disable Notifications.
• Use some website blockers.
• Find alternative activities that don’t involve social media.

 

At the end, social media is good if we use it correctly, but we need to be aware of the fact that it can be seriously harmful to our mental health.

If you want to learn more about social media's dark side, then click the link mentioned below:

• "The dark side of social media networks":

           https://www.uts.edu.au/news/health-science/dark-side-social-media-networks