Being connected to your friends, family, and everyone else online can be awesome! 

However, it is easy to get caught up with feeling that life needs to be perfect and continually comparing ourselves to others. It can feel great when we get ‘likes’ and ‘views’, but sometimes social media can make us feel sad, depressed, or like everyone else is better than us or having more fun. Social media can affect anyone, especially young people, and sometimes we don’t even realize it.  Every time we scroll through an app, our eyes send picture messages to our brain, and our brain saves these images and messages as real life. Over time, we begin to compare real life to these false, negative, or unhealthy images stored in our brain, even if we aren’t trying to.

When we compare ourselves to others on social media, or follow social media campaigns that have negative messages, it can affect our self-image, our confidence, and even our mental health.  It’s important to use social media in ways that help us be confident in our uniqueness and keep us mentally and emotionally healthy.

Here are some tips to staying mentally healthy while using social media:

Lead with positivity, kindness, and wellness! Find positive and motivating posts and people to follow, many creators on social media post positive quotes, inspiring stories, how-to videos for new and fun skills, and health resources. Follow the posts and creators that make you feel good, so the feel-good messages are the ones your brain stores-instead of the ones that make you feel bad.  Be the leader of your friends, family, and classmates; post inspiring pictures, positive comments and emojis on peoples’ pages. Share people and pages that support mental health and places people can go if they need help.  If you feel yourself about to make a negative comment or post, take a pause, ask yourself “is there something positive I can post instead?” or “should I just post nothing at all?”

Advocate for yourself and others online! If you see or receive messages or posts that are bullying or abusive, you should block and report it in the app.  Talk to a trusted adult (parents, caregivers, teachers) about the post and decide together if you should report it.  In many countries, like the US, some posts and messages are illegal, like sharing naked photos of others.  It is important to report posts and messages when a person is physically or emotionally hurting themselves, or other people. If someone you know is showing signs of struggling with being online, help them find a trusted adult to talk to about their feelings and how they can change their behaviors online.

Avoid doom scrolling! Doom scrolling is when we keep scrolling through bad news or unhealthy posts, even if they make us feel bad. Pay attention to how social media is influencing your feelings, thoughts, or actions, especially when you are randomly scrolling through your feed. Remember that not everything you see online is real, but how it affects you is real. 

Stay connected IRL! Try and switch off and take a break from social media every now and then and spend time with friends and family in real life. Some people even delete their social media for a week or two-called a social media cleanse- and spend time doing other things, like hanging out with friends, playing sports and games, or watching their favorite shows. If you notice that you check your device automatically-without realizing it-or feel like you have to check your social media all the time or are on social media more than 2-3 hours a day, you might be developing an unhealthy habit and spending too much time online.  

Understanding social media can be challenging for everyone but following these tips can help you feel mentally healthy and like a social media champion.