It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by social media. With all the different kinds of accounts we can have, the way we can rely on the number of likes and comments we get, and the tendency we have to compare ourselves to others about what we post, social media can heighten feelings of anxiety and/or depression, especially for adolescents today. It doesn’t help that people sometimes endlessly scroll through their social media during depressive episodes or times of increased anxiety, because that’s really all their brains have the energy to do.
One piece of advice that’s usually given to handle the mental health and social media balance is to try going off the grid. Some people delete all their apps, deactivate, and remove themselves completely from social media. This can work, but because of how much we use technology and social media today, it could lead to feelings of missing out on something, which then in turn can also trigger feelings of anxiety and/or depression.
If you think social media has a negative effect on your child, but don’t think that it’s necessary for them to completely remove themselves from social media however (and that’s completely understandable – social media is a major part of everyday life now), there are still a few other options you can try if you either want your child to cut down your social media use or make it a space that they feel less anxious in.
For example, you can suggest that they Marie Kondo their feed. They can look at some of the accounts or people they follow and see if they make them inspired or happy when seeing their content, or if they do the opposite and make them feel bad about yourself for any reason. If it’s the latter, then maybe it’s best to unfollow them. Some sites also have tools that let users mute or silence accounts so they don’t see any of their content on the explore page or if others they follow share their content.
Another method is deciding which social media accounts are worth having. Instead of going completely off of the grid, you can suggest that your child temporarily deactivate or permanently delete accounts that they don’t use as often or feel like don’t contribute anything to you. According to a report about teen social media use in the UK, nearly 1 in 5 teenagers have removed certain social media apps. It’s not uncommon to either give this a trial run to see if they can do without some accounts, and they can always add it back if they do find joy in it.
You don’t have to be limited to these options, of course. Regardless, everyone has a way to find a balance in their social media use.
Have you ever removed or deactivated a social media account? Have you suggested to your child to remove any of their social media accounts?