Mental Health

How To Avoid Being Psychologically Drained By Your Newsfeed

By Abbie Kraft | Update Date: Feb 06, 2017 09:00 AM EST

Social media outlets can sometimes be considered as a stressor due to negative news flooding the newsfeed. Most social media post these days are often linked to politics, war, and even heinous crimes, which can potentially impact an individual's mental health.

Going through one's newsfeed filled with negativity can very draining. Several studies pointed out that social media can either make or break an individual's overall wellness, thus it is important to understand how to put a barrier when it comes to dealing with the negativity of on one's newsfeed as reported in USA Today.

There are several techniques to consider when it comes to avoiding the stress that is brought about by social media. It was mentioned that one of the most important things to consider is to learn the difference of being informed and being immersed.

Information vs. Immersion

There is a fine line that separates information and immersion. Though going through one's social media newsfeed often provides real-time updates when it comes to important matters, it is important to know when to detach and when to read through.

Stay optimistic

Looking at the bright side can go a long way as staying optimistic in dealing with the headlines on one's newsfeed can most definitely make the slightest change.

"Optimism is a strategy for making a better future," Noam Chomsky once wrote. "Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so."

The Guardian noted that social media is highly impacting the mental health of teenagers, thus the government even stepped in to alleviate the looming dangers of social media among teenagers. Teenagers are often impacted on the negative effects of social media as they are more in line with the latest technology and updates.

There are several other ways on how social media affects mental health, but going through the basics such as identifying the difference of being informed and being immersed can go a long way. 

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