Coping with social media anxieties

One posing question for most of us today is how to constructively use social media to our benefit and not waste time mindlessly following or comparing. While social media is incredibly helpful in leveraging and integrating people especially in times like these when we all are physically distant yet connected, it’s of utmost importance to be responsible and avoid creating social media anxiety.

Anxieties of all kinds are prevalent right now so we have to be watchful. “Pandemic generates anxiety. In this case there are three reasons. People just came out of one bout in 2020 and may not have been prepared for the next one so soon. This cycle is a lot faster in its peaking. Uncertainties are great source of anxiety. Social media too dramatise events and these are not representative of a modal outcome of Covid-19. However media must caution people to follow advisories,” says Dr Gangadhar BN, former director of NIMHANS, Bengaluru.

The idea is to use social media positively, build bridges without the burnout. Today we all have the access to voice our opinion but the determining factor is how or what are we trying to circulate or achieve. As social media influencers many of us have the power to shape impressionable minds. While we need to also realise that content creators have their own pressure of delivering and meeting the expectations, and in doing so it’s a whole lot of team effort, production and planning that goes into it; we should not be comparing or trying to achieve someone’s optimised version. We don’t have to give the sexiest groove as long as we enjoy the music.

“Social media sometimes stresses people out. I think what ever you do in life your happiness should be first and you should not do anything to please others. Enjoying every moment is what matters and social media should not become a extra tension in anyone’s life”, says the actor Adhvithi Shetty. Many of us only post our perfect moments of life on social media, or a perfect cook out or a perfect life. But life is not about perfections or a quest to achieve a Zen state of mind. It’s not about the perfect head stand with an hourglass body.

Life is tricky – it’s about illnesses, going through stuff and still having the courage to start afresh, making others feel better, feeling wonderful despite our shortcomings and hurrahing for our partners or children who run their races, whether they stand first or last doesn’t really matter as long as they run.
Life is about not trying to…
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