I don’t know about you, but I’m old enough to remember the carefree days when we didn’t live and breathe by being connected to technology. I certainly remember waiting anxiously for snail mail letters from family and friends when I was in college, as well as the once a week phone call to home from our dorm wall phone!
I am so grateful that modern technology like cell phones and video chats have allowed us to stay in contact with our friends and loved ones amid the pandemic and its social distancing requirements, but when life returns to normal, I will welcome the opportunity to be with people again without technology. Facebook friends will never replace face-to-face interactions.
In fact, a 2017 study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health assessed more than 5,200 subjects in the Gallup Panel Social Network Study to look at the association between Facebook activity and real-world social activities, particularly as it relates to self-reported physical health, mental health, life satisfaction and even body mass index. The results showed that overall, the use of Facebook was negatively associated with well-being.
We all know someone who uses doctored images and thinly veiled boasting to hide their own insecurities on Facebook, Instagram, etc. Don’t let them trigger feelings of inadequacy, envy, anxiety, etc. I know plenty of people who have chosen to leave social media for these reasons, but if you aren’t quite there yet, I would encourage you to at least unplug one day a week. Live in the moment, as trying as it has been of late.
One way to do that is devote time to meditation. Meditation is all about helping us find ways to slow down and take a few minutes every day to focus on the things that bring us fulfillment and contentment.