A Healthier Relationship With Social Media? Yes, Please!

iStock

多久了自从你检查社交媒体以来一直在吗？一天，一个小时，五分钟？PEW研究中心估计，10名美国人在社交媒体上活跃，我们的大多数人在这些平台上花时间 - 每天连接，消费或至少一次 - 至少一次。

Covid检疫仅增加了我们对社交媒体平台的依赖。2020年10月的Facebook社区洞察力调查发现，77％的受访者表示，他们的一部分最重要的群体实际上运作。但是，这一切都在线对我们的心理健康做了什么？

据专家介绍，社会媒体成瘾是真实的，可以对情绪健康和福祉有一些关于后果。但与此同时，社交媒体可以成为积极社会联系的代理人。新研究journal of Happiness Studies提供有关如何与Facebook，Instagram和Twitter具有更健康的关系的洞察力。秘密酱？这完全是如何使用这些平台。

Relationship Status: It’s Complicated

最少说，社交媒体使用与心理健康之间的关系是棘手的。“Any blanket statement saying, ‘It’s all good’ or ‘It’s all bad’ is not going to be true,” says Jelena Kecmanovic, Ph.D., founding director of Arlington/DC Behavior Therapy Institute and clinical psychologist in Arlington, VA. “The not-very-satisfactory answer is, ‘It depends.’” Some research does show social media to be linked to anxiety, depression, and lower emotional satisfaction, but it’s not clear which of these factors is the cause. Does social media make people more anxious, or doanxious peoplesimply spend more time on social media?

“大多数研究表明，人们感觉更糟[使用社交媒体后], yet it doesn’t stop people from doing it,” Kecmanovic says. “So, they’re getting something out of it as well.” During this time when in-person connections are limited, social media can feel like a much-needed peek into the outside world. You can’t see your friends IRL (thank you, COVID), so why not follow their lives online?

社交媒体也有助于分散压力of life. “We might be bored or anxious about work or frustrated about something, and we want to distract by doing something that is mindless,” she says. “So, we open up Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.” In a year like 2020, it’s easy to see why you’d want a little break from reality.

The Comparison Trap

Here’s the problem: You can’t control what comes up in your online feed. “You cannot predict or control what information is going to be there,” Kecmanovic says. When you queue up a movie after a long day, you can pretty much guess what you’re about to be watching–a comedy, a drama, or an escapist sci-fi thriller. With social media, it’s all a gamble, and you may stumble on some content you weren’t expecting.

“We don’t end up feeling lighter or less encumbered,” Kecmanovic says, “because[我们]看到其他人发帖[about]辉煌，做得好，庆祝他们的成就，并呈现这个非常策划的生活。“当你感到不安全时，你需要看到的最后一件事是其他人“蓬勃发展”（即使你真的不知道他们的生活中发生了什么）。“我们与我们在社交媒体上看到的人进行比较，当然我们将缩短，因为我们可以访问我们的一生，”她解释道。你知道自己的缺点和失败，但你只能看到其他人选择公开分享。没有任何坏的，你得到了好处。

Kecmanovic称这种现象upward social comparison。“You’re comparing yourself to people who seem to be higher than you in some way,” she explains. That, combined with the polarized political atmosphere on social media, can end up dragging you down further into anxiety and stress.

如何翻脚脚本

它不一定是这样。在里面journal of Happiness Studiesreport, researchers discovered that the more frequently social media users compared themselves to others, the worse they reported feeling after using those platforms. “The social comparison aspect looks like a major reason that spending time on social network sites produces负面情绪，“博士Wirtz，博士说，英国哥伦比亚大学奥卡拉根校区心理学系副教授，加拿大校长，主任研究。

The antidote to this is to strive for active, rather than passive, social media use. “Using social media passively implies scrolling or viewing pictures and updates without doing anything to strengthen social bonds,” Wirtz says. This inevitably leads to comparison and is “a recipe for feeling worse.” Instead, use your social media platforms intentionally to connect with others–post your own content, comment on friends’ posts, and message people back and forth. This gives you some sense of personal agency. “Active use would be much better,” Wirtz suggests, “particularly if it involves direct communication or planning for getting together with friends or family in-person” – though COVID doesn’t always allow for in-person meetings. Still, use these sites for active connection as much as you can.

制定行动计划

在您打开Instagram之前，请击败思考原因。您是否有照片您想要分享，您想要推文的报价，或者您想要的人留言？或者你只是为了一剂多巴胺冲浪互联网......你可能会或可能不会最终得到？

“We know that expressing yourself and your emotions, whether positive or negative, is a healthy thing,” Kecmanovic says. Use your social media to reflect you and the things you love, rather than doomscrolling through other people’s feeds for a distraction.

以下是设置关键边界的一些提示：

1.关闭通知。

Kecmanovic suggests turning off notifications so they won’t constantly bombard you throughout the day. “There’s this reptilian part of our brain that sees a notification and says, ‘Oh, I have to check it,’” she explains. “We get forcefully distracted from being present with people around us, from work, from cooking, from anything[we’re]在那一刻，试图努力。“

相反，计划仅在一天的某些时候检查社交媒体。“即使你每两个小时花在社交媒体上花费一定的时间，那么每次收到通知时都比在看你的手机，”她说。“更好的是，你以刻意的方式决定。”让自己按计划，看看那是怎么回事。

2. Have a purpose every time you log on.

每次有自由时刻，不要只是拉起推特。点击之前请深思。“不要怜悯它，”Kecmanovic敦促。“在司机的座位上。”每次在社交媒体上都会做出积极做点什么的目标，是否评论了对朋友的鼓励信息或分享自己的生活更新。

3. Check in with yourself after scrolling.

举行汇报。翻阅你的饲料后，你如何感受？“在社交媒体上花时间来看，我们应该问自己，我们是否感觉更好或更糟，想想它让我们感受到的事情，”Wirtz说。如果您注意到一种模式 - 您的社交媒体消费使您感觉更糟糕 - 考虑恢复您的策略，甚至可以花一些时间。一点点休息永远不会伤害任何人。

4.改变你遵循的人。

通过您的朋友或人员列表，您跟随每个问题，每个问题都会问自己：这个帐户会让我对自己感觉更好吗？如果答案是否定的，则命中该按钮（或者至少静音其内容一段时间）。你没有时间否定那个否定！沿着移动并摇动。

遇见我们的作家

莎拉埃利斯

Sarah Ellis是一种健康和文化作家，他们涵盖了从避孕机会到健身趋势的慢性健康状况。她最初来自纳什维尔，田纳西州，目前居住在纽约。她已经为Elite每日，伟大的学者，Mindbodygreen和其他人写了写作。当她没有写作时，莎拉喜欢跑步，素食食物，充分利用她的图书馆卡。

读什么阅读

Overcoming Advanced Prostate Cancer’s Other Problems

If It’s Monday, It’s Time to Move the Needle

It’s Move-the-Needle Monday!

How to Set Up Your Bipolar Support Squad