KULJEET SINGH
This era is dominated by digital connectivity ,Social media platform become an integral part of our lives . In this article i discuss how social media platforms impact of mental Health . In 2023, an estimated 4.9 billion people use social media across the world. The active social media users in India is 33.4% According to figures at the beginning of 2023, more than 69% of adults and 81% of teens use social media daily, with more than 90% of teens using it for more than 4 hours a day. The constant use of social media through smartphones means our brains are exposed to high volumes of stimulation and our neurons are discharge all day , which are responsible for changing the neurological architecture of our brain. reaction to a post, it can trigger the release of dopamine in the brain, the same “reward” chemical that follows winning a game, consumption of alcoholor lighting up a cigarette for example ,The more you’re rewarded, the more time you want to spend on social media, even if it becomes harmful to other aspects of your life.
How social media effect our brain
Regular usage of social media changing our brain structure, function and cognitive development in the key areas.
1. Attention capacity
While using Social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, users are endless scroll of photos, captions, comments, likes and tags. While users are processing this constant influx of information, additional app prompts and notifications are competing for attention and can cause individuals to displace their concentration across multiple incoming media streams. This puts our brains in a constant state of multitasking, thus hindering our ability to focus and shortening our attention span. Heavy social media Users are not able to ignore distraction they are getting distract easily which results decreasing in thinking, reasoning, remembering capacity and shrink part of the brain associated with maintaing concentration .
2.Decreases Memory and Information Processing
Social media affects the content of memoriesand the capacity of memory. Millions of people use social media to record and share their experiences, but new social apps actually diminish your memory and the moments of the past that you want to preserve.
Researchers believe social media is affecting our transactive memory- the way our brain divides information and decides where to store it. With the advent of social media and smartphones our brain are not able to remembering of store things effectively and we don’t keep as many details about the experience stored internally in our memory.
3. Social and Emotional Responses
Social media is made to be addictive. Each like or positive comment trigger the release of dopamine to our brain, thus creating reward pathways in the brain causing you to desire to getting more and more likes, comments views and retweets, etc. However, the less number of likes and comments can leave us feeling empty, sad, anxious or depressed because our brain isn’t getting that hit of dopamine. For the desire of likes and comments we spend lot of time on social media which result in hedache hypertension and sleep problem .
4. Increase risk of anxiety and depression disorder
Human beings need face-to-face contact to be mentally healthy. Nothing reduces stress and boosts your mood faster or more effectively than eye-to-eye contact with someone who cares about you. The more you prioritize social media interaction over in-person relationships, the more you’re at risk for developing disorders such as anxiety and depression.
How to overcome use of social media
1. Set Clear Goals: Define specific objectives of your life for reducing social media use, such as spending less time scrolling or increasing productivity.
2. Create Time Limits: Establish daily or weekly time limits for social media usage and use built-in app features or third-party apps to enforce them.
3. Designate Tech-Free Zones: Identify certain places like temple mosque and gurudwara etc.where social media use is off-limits, promoting a healthier balance between online and offline activities.
4. Schedule Breaks: Instead of mindlessly scrolling, schedule short breaks specifically for social media to avoid impulsive use throughout the day
5. Prioritize Real Connections: Invest more time in face-to-face interactions or phone calls with friends and family, fostering meaningful connections outside of social media.
6. Unfollow and Unsubscribe: Trim your social media feeds by unfollowing accounts that contribute to negative feelings or excessive content consumption.
7. Turn off notification: Disable non-essential notifications to minimize interruptions and reduce the temptation to check social media constantly.
8. Find alternatives: Identify hobbies or activities that provide fulfilment and replace idle social media time with these healthier alternatives.
9. Track Progress: Keep a log of your social media usage to track improvements and stayaccountable to your goals.
10. Seek Support: Share your intentions with friends or family, creating a support system that encourages you to stick to your social media reduction plan.
