Today’s post is by Morgan Meyer, a Licensed Professional Counselor Intern at Counseling South Austin specializing in women’s issues, self-esteem, eating disorders, relational issues and depression. Contact her for a free thirty-minute consultation here.

Ever feel like your social media use is bogging you down?

As sites like Facebook and Twitter have become integral parts of our day, it’s important to think critically about the ways social media impacts our lives.

Here are some ways social media can negatively affect our mental health:

1.)  Insecurity. My Facebook newsfeed seems to be a constant barrage of engagement announcements, baby arrivals, job promotions, and flawless selfies.

It can be a constant reminder of what’s NOT going on in my life, so it’s not surprising that social media sites can increase feelings of inadequacy.

When others choose to share only the positive aspects and most flattering photos of their lives on social media, it creates an unrealistic basis for self-comparison.

Similarly, when others post their whereabouts, what parties they’re attending, and other exciting life events, we begin to fear that we are missing out.

When we are constantly comparing ourselves to this unrealistic pseudo world, it can negatively affect our self-esteem.

When we take the time to realize that what others post only tells part of their life story (oftentimes only the positive parts), we can stop being so hard on ourselves.

2.)  Distraction. It’s pretty clear how social media can decrease our productivity.

I know I can waste endless hours looking at the lives of others.  Let’s face it, people are interesting, and we all have those Facebook friends with lives that resemble soap operas.

It can be hard to look away, but let’s not forget about what we could be accomplishing in real life if we weren’t wasting so much time focusing on the social media world.

3.)  Addiction.  Social media addiction is a real thing.

Recent studies show its addictive properties come from the positive reinforcement we receive from it. It can act as a means of reinforcement as it distracts us from daily boredom or monotony.In this way, it serves as an escape.

Similarly, as our friends “like” our posts, it can give us a sense of importance that can further reinforce our social media usage.

What acts as positive reinforcement can become addictive.

4.)  Social Anxiety. We use social media to stay connected to others, but it just doesn’t have the same properties as real human interaction, a necessary human need.

For those already prone to social anxiety, a dependence on social media can make one even more anxious when confronted with face-to-face interaction.  As communicating behind the comfort of your computer screen becomes more common, real human interaction can become a scary thing for some.

Just as social media can increase our anxieties about communicating with others, it can also have the opposite affect in increasing our fears of being alone.

Through social media, a constant feeling of being connected to the people we know is always within reach of our smartphones.

The constant pseudo connection social media offers can foster a fear of being disconnected or alone. However, being able to be alone with one’s self is a necessary developmental task.

5.)  Cyber Bullying. In recent years, cyber bullying has become a hot topic in the news, and for good reason.

As if adolescence isn’t a hard enough period in one’s life, imagine going through it with the critical nature of social media. Sadly, however, teens aren’t the only ones capable of cyber bullying.

Social media allows for bullies to hide behind their computers, detached from the impact their words have on their victims. Similarly, social media allows for a void between one’s actions and consequences.

However, we see time and time again that what happens on the Internet has very real consequences.

Solution: There seems to be one real solution to the negative effects of social media – power down.

We can all benefit from limiting our social media usage.

Try to set a limit for the number of times or minutes you will allow yourself to log in.

Or do what I’ve recently done – take a social media break by disabling your Facebook profile for a while. It can help you become more attuned to you and your own life.