Why we need more social media to live a healthier life.
When my oldest son was 13, he opened a Snapchat account, without parental approval. After I grounded him, my younger son came to his defense, creating a PowerPoint presentation, “Why every child needs Snapchat in their life.” At the same time, my husband, a pediatrician, shared medical data on social media and mental health showing that the use of social media has increased anxiety, depression and low self-esteem in adolescents. I realize that the research on the effects of social media is not a useful weapon in a battle against social media because that war has already been won.
Is it really harmful? The Washington Post shared a survey report by the American Psychological Journal, which looked at more than half a million adolescents and adults and found that anxiety and depression have increased not only among people 26 yrs old and younger but also among women, and people at higher income level.
Social media is ubiquitous. The initial intrusion was subtle. At first, it was simply a scrolling distraction. It quickly morphed into an essential way to stay connected. Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat innocuously connect users through pictures. We scroll through our feed and continue to crave that feeling of connectedness through “likes” and comments. Despite filters, we can’t help but think that everyone else has perfect skin and is living a better life. Still, we continue to fill our time swiping through pictures of friends savoring beautifully plated food as we stare at our own bowl of lonely ramen. What’s the point of hundreds of followers if you can’t find 1 person to eat ramen with.
The problem is that we spend time expecting to feel connected by scrolling through perfect pictures, but the emotional investment we give to social media doesn’t deliver the emotional fulfillment we need. Scientific research tells us that a happier, healthier life boils down to one thing that matters: relationships. As the ease of tech-moderated relationships becomes the norm, we lose the value of direct connections.
What can we do about it? We need to remember that relationships are not formed by sharing “likes”, but by sharing life. Festi is a different kind of social media. It’s a booking system where you can post activities, book events and “follow” friends to see them, not in pictures, but face-to-face. We don’t want to read another article about the harm of screen-time but rather give us another option. What if we can scroll through pictures to see things we can do, with people we like, rather than what everyone else did- without us. We need to start using our phones to connect, so we can disconnect.
You can find me on LinkedIn if you want to see my bio, you can follow me on Instagram if you want to see what I’ve been doing, but if you want to have coffee with me sometime, find me on Festi.
- Rita Ting-Hopper
