I’m 31 so I’m old enough to remember a time when social media and iPhones didnt dn’t exist. I’ve always had anxiety, I have c-PTSD and I know that’s a factor. I also lived in an apartment full of toxic mold and I really believe that caused a lot of my anxiety, but I find anytime I’m anxious or I have an uncomfortable thought of feeling I reach for my phone and start scrolling, sually TikTok. It’s definitely an addiction at this point because it works, it distracts me from my anxiety which can be unbearable at times. But ever since I developed that habit it seems like my anxiety has gotten exponentially worse. I’ve definitely seen some disturbing stuff on social media, like true crime stuff and disturbing news stories, I know that doesn’t help, but idk if that’s the problem? When you google anxiety from social media it’s mostly just talks about teenagers and comparing yourself to other people and stuff like that. That’s definitely not my issue and that’s not really what I’m wondering about. Im wondering if outside of that you guys feel like mindless scrolling on social media causes anxiety?
How do you think that social media/ too much screen time affects your anxiety?
DiscussionSocial media can become a problem for people with anxiety/depression pretty quickly. It’s already a highly toxic and volatile environment as it is so imagine what it becomes for someone with mental health issues.
I have to constantly monitor my social media usage because it can become obsessive, ritualistic and an interference with the handling of my anxiety. It can become very difficult to not engage at times but disconnection is really the most healthy way of approaching this as there’s nothing about it that will help you improve your mental health. Only facing the real world can.
I’ve closed accounts, unfollowed and uninstalled apps recently. I plan on continuing to do this until I find a comfortable level of social media usage that doesn’t affect my progress.
It increases my anxiety when I’m experiencing feelings like loneliness and sorrow and regret, I need to be very careful with it. The lure is so strong!
I dont think it does. I mean, I can limit myself (I work, I like naps, I read and play games). I mostly use it for distraction when I have free time.
It depends on the day. When my anxiety in real life is too much I start looking for distractions online, which can be helpful in the moment. Then eventually reading about nuclear war, genocide, climate change, etc gets to be too much and I need a real life distraction
I literally just unistalled Instagram from my phone yesterday. Let's see how it goes. Don't look at TikTok or Twitter. I think Insta & TikTok are really bad gor distraction and also making you feel bad about your own life. Everything is flashy and wonderful. Reddit will be staying on my phone however.
Years ago, like more than 5, I deleted all of my social media; with the exception of LinkedIn. I did it for two reasons 1) bc I kept comparing myself to the fake influencers or people I knew 2) everything on there was either hate, political or “look at me and my wonderful life”. I can say it helped my anxiety and depression quite a bit. I still do have bad anxiety at times but it’s not from any of the reasons above. It is a choice. On the other hand, I have no friends and it’s hard for me to keep up with all of the people I have met over the years: high school, college, military… Definitely up to the person but I have not missed it.
After covid social media made me realize how dumb and egoistic some people are. Made me depressed af
For sure. It makes me feel more dissociated.
It's funny you mention this because I was just scrolling hereto make the anxiety calm down. It's definitely not great. I'm not sure how much anxiety it directly causes, but it does make me nauseous after staring at a screen for so long. Problem is, if I stop, the anxiety comes back, and I can't bear it.
I definitely won’t watch true crime stuff or anything remotely upsetting on YouTube. I think on tiktok you kinda have the least control of your content and i don’t think the endless short burst videos are great for your brain. I steer clear of comment sections too. I don’t click rage bait. I recommend artists & cute animal videos on insta and calm creators on youtube. Put your phone aside in the morning and focus on breakfast/getting ready. However if the anxiety is relent less there is nothing wrong with getting a snack and scrolling a bit of insta/YouTube/reddit.
I see way too much news that bothers me. I need to stop scrolling so much lol.
Yes - I have been much less anxious since I stopped using Twitter/X
Facebook and TikTok are gone for me. The hard ones for me are Reddit and Instagram. Even if I delete Reddit, I end up using it all the time when looking for recommendations. I do find it’s a valuable tool. And then as an artist, Instagram is great for discovering new art and sharing it (when I actually make something lol). Reddit I’ve just noticed is mostly best for me when I don’t comment (lol whoops) bc 1) it sucks when you get a lot of negativity on something you post/comment and 2) that addiction to checking your phone for replies and validation. For Instagram, the reels and people using it like Facebook can kind of ruin it for me, though I’ve curated the best I can. But, also, as an artist, not able to break into the scene with my occasional drawings that I post that yield 20 likes. Plus ppl from my hs who are likely wondering why I made a rap song and drew some weird illustration. Comparing myself to other, “better” artists. And then I ask myself why I even care?? But then I make digital art. How else can I share it??
Anyway, for me, I think it affects my sleep a little if I’m on social media/phone a lot and close to bedtime. I also think comparing yourself to others. Also caring what strangers or old friends think about you. I gave up all social media for a while and it kinda pushes you to think about what’s actually going on in real-life more and I think it does help with focus. And likely focus and anxiety are very tied as most anxiety comes from looping about the past or future and not being present (sorry to be hippity dippity about it but I think that’s a huge help). I’ve had days like today where I’ve been on social media too much and I just feel almost slightly manic bc it’s basically compulsive scrolling.
My two cents.
I definitely think it's had a negative impact on not only my mental health but the mental health of an uncountable number of people. While finding immediate distractions can be a helpful coping mechanism at the beginning, I don't think it's a great long term strategy. Finding ways of actually processing and understanding our thoughts and feelings will always be healthier. I know it's not easy, but finding a therapist and just talking to them about your thoughts and feelings will always be more helpful. I hope it gets easier. Good luck.