Written by: Jack Lee
Artwork by: Matthew Um
Social media has raised a drastic level of popularity among teenagers within the past decades. It has allowed us to communicate, meet with new people, make friends, and freely express ourselves. However, as bright as its bright sides may be, its dark sides are also seriously concerning.
As many of you guys may be aware, negative comments on social media are perhaps one of the most frustrating problems that distract self-improvement. Countless news, studies, and psychological research have reported through numerous evidence that uncomfortable comments can strongly harm individuals to unprecedented degrees. Situations can become extreme: weaker mental health can jeopardize our physical health with declining self-esteem. Belittling comments make us feel insecure and worthless, leaving us marginalized in a digitalized society. But as technology improves day by day making cyberspace a busier space for communications, maintaining your self-improvement for protecting mental health will undoubtedly become a greater priority.
In response to issues concerning social media, public health organizations have often offered solutions like avoiding using social media or politely asking to stop negative comments. However, these are more easily said than done. While these solutions are all plausible, we need to ask ourselves: what solutions can be efficiently implemented? What solutions are most practicable? As an experienced social media user having studied and researched ways to secure mental health in the modern digital age, I wish to suggest to you my personal solutions for self-improvement.
Stay more physically active
Social media has evolved into an addictive tool making us less physically active. But spending more time outside is vital for maintaining self-improvement in today’s digital world. While completely avoiding social media can be difficult, setting your phone aside for a couple of hours is definitely feasible. You may ask: what do I do outside when everyone else is on social media these days? It is simple. Ask anyone free at your available times to offer a quick meal or take a stroll in nice weather. To not be engulfed by social media’s addictive nature, you need to prioritize managing your time for balancing social media and your personal time like enjoying an outdoor hobby, talking with friends, and working out.
2. Find a passion project
A passion project is a piece of work that someone gets involved in because they love it and feel it is personally important. To avoid social media’s harmful effects, you need to assign yourself work that makes you lose track of time. Ask yourself: what field of study are you interested in? Is there anything you like to do to impact your community? For example, I worked on a documentary discussing a particular field of my interest. For two months, I was much less involved in social media and more into my project. Not having to encounter any negative or distracting content, I was less stressed and compelled to more meaningfully invest my time. You can do the same. Set apart part of your time engaging in something you truly enjoy. In short: social media is only a very small portion of your time.
Social media is indisputably a great source for communications and personal expression. However, we need to become wary of its dark sides. To avoid these, how can we become more socially active and deliberate digital citizens? Of course, you are by no means confined to my solutions. Regardless, let us remember one thing: social media is only a minuscule part of your leisure time.
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