Social Media Effects During Crisis Time
When Sacha asked me to write about the relationship between social media and mental health during this challenging time my thoughts started racing and I felt inspired to write. I personally feel very conflicted in this situation. I think there are multiple aspects to it.
First of all, the emotional aspect; I believe that’s where it all starts. We are all loaded with emotions at the moment; we feel heartbroken, we feel angry, we feel grief, we feel fearful, we feel love and care,… In addition, this war brings forth deep collective wounds. All of this is a lot to bear for a single human let alone a whole nation. I think firstly, this is what we sense on social media; a melting pot of emotions. And fair enough; those emotions need to be felt and expressed.
Second, the element of uncertainty of the situation (i.e., deaths, kidnappings, not knowing how the situation will escalate…) plays a big role in the addiction to social media. Human beings don’t like uncertainty, we like having a sense of control on the situation. And that is exactly what social media gives us. By repeatedly updating our news or social media feeds we feel like we get a sense of control on the situation. Which is, of course, an illusion. So if you can bring awareness to that and limit the amount of times you refresh your feed per day for control it could help with your current mental health.
Third, there is the aspect of addiction. First of all, social media is built in a way to keep us on the App for hours, it releases dopamine plus the number of content is literally endless so it keeps you on the App for hours, without being in control of it—The App is in control of you. In addition to the social media addiction human beings have a dark side where they are addicted to these type of horrifying news because it also releases dopamine, which also leads to endless refreshing and scrolling. The key to this is having very (veryveryvery…) strong boundaries, making sure you control the amount of time you spent on the App and not vice versa.
Fourth, the beautiful side of it is the sense of responsibility, community and awareness it brings to people. Social media has a lot of dark sides but the light of it is that it is a tool where we can spread love, light and awareness on a larger scale (even if the messages aren’t always light). We’ve seen how it’s brought people together and some really important messages have been spread that without the help of social media would’ve not been brought to light. It’s also beautiful to see how a lot of people unite for good causes. Though, this could potentially lead to people feeling like they “HAVE” to (aka guilt) share and participate. The answer to this is checking in with your intentions. Don’t post anything unless it comes from your heart or clear intention.
Lastly, the flip side of this online “freedom of speech” is that it leads to a countermovement of people opposing to the messages that are being spread with hate or disregard. This reaction, and especially in such a state of vulnerability, leads to more firing up and escalation. The war has its extension online now; a war of information. The importance here is how people respond to hate. Although challenging, more hate is simply a loop that leads to nowhere and the people who are giving you hate are also not interested in love and open discussions, so this is where you take your energy and power back. This is where it’s important to be cautious and careful of your energy. Now more than ever, we need to use our energy for good and not for bad; to create and not to destroy. If you feel your message can lovingly inform someone who is willing to listen that is different; please do, it’s important to spread awareness and truth.
I believe there is no right or wrong way to use social media, especially in times like these. Everyone copes differently. I think we can’t blame people for letting their emotions out there, we can’t blame people for spending way too much time there, we can’t blame people who need a break from it… All reactions are normal and there is literally no way to do anything right now. If you want to preserve your peace what’s important is 1) to decide whether or not you want to be part of the social media side of the war 2) if you are on social media have good boundaries with your time and energy, set intentions 3) don’t be too hard on yourself if you are not doing things exactly as you’d wish you did… you’re going through a hard unusual time, give yourself grace, listen to your body, listen to your needs, take it slow.
Lots of love - May we know peace x
