Oversocializing on Social Media

In this time of isolation and being removed from many, if not all, of your loved ones and those close to you, social media has almost become a necessity in order to connect with them. In fact, you may have seen, or even given, advice on how important it is to reach out and connect with those virtually. 

Maintaining some sort of social life is needed during quarantine for many reasons, especially when it comes to mental health and for those who are susceptible to having symptoms of mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Your child may be separated from those who they see as a support system, or they might be living alone, where it can be easy to get stuck in their own head and thoughts if they’re not talking with others.

And while it’s necessary to keep up some kind of virtual social life, they actually might find themselves feeling pressured to constantly have one, to the point where they’re socializing and talking more with others more than you used to do face-to-face. This can be a good thing, where they may be finding themselves building stronger relationships with others, but it can also be exhausting and they might feel themselves getting burnt out. With all the advice suggesting to connect to others more, they may also feel pressured to reach out to everyone you know, and they may feel guilty if they don’t constantly reach out or aren’t as present in Zoom calls or FaceTime conversations.

So while social media is vital during this time, you, nor your child, should feel like you should be pressured to constantly talk to people all the time. Take a step back and think about how much interaction your child usually preferred before quarantine started. Are they an introvert who only needs to talk to a couple of close friends a day? Do they prefer texting over video calls? Think about their former socializing routine and how they can adjust that in a quarantine situation, without pressuring yourself to increase it to the point that they’re adding extra stress to their routine.


Have you noticed a change in your child’s social media habits? If you live away from your child, have you noticed a change in how often you talk to them?

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