At this day in age, I think we all can agree that technology and social media have consumed a lot of time from kids, teens, and young adults. I feel that through my experiences and conversations I've had with others that social media can be a large contributor to anxiety that some may experience. Often times we feel as though numbers reflect who we are, and what others think of us. Number of likes, number of followers, number of views, number of retweets... the list goes on.
For me personally, there have been times where I get stressed about what I am going to post. I would spend a lot of time contemplating whether or not to post something because I'm not sure if other people will approve of it. Don't waste your time worrying about that like I did, put your energy into something else. It can be hard to take our eyes off of the screen, but there are way more important issues to worry about these days which we seem to often forget.
Something that's important to remember is that many other people are having the same concern about themselves. This goes for self-esteem in general, because most of the time people are too focused on themselves and how others perceive them to even be thinking twice about your post.
When posting on social media, a question you should ask yourself is "Do I like this post? Is it something that I enjoy or makes me feel good about myself?" Try to focus on YOU and what makes YOU happy - not what other people think. Obviously, this is easier said than done, but you need to remind yourself what is important. Social media is not worth obsessing over and your mental health should be a priority over it.
Over years of using social media, I have come to the consensus that I am going to post things if they make me happy. If I like how I look and it makes me feel good about myself, or I think it's a cool post, then I'm going to post it. I know it's hard to get in the habit of thinking that way because I've experienced the stress first hand, but you need to put your health and well-being first.
Letting social media control your anxiety and feelings is an extremely unhealthy situation to be in, but unfortunately, that is the reality for many people nowadays. There is a lot of pressure on the internet to look a certain way and trust me I understand how difficult that can be to ignore. Although, what I have learned is that I don't need the approval of others to post something - and neither do you. You don't need to fall into a certain category or fit a certain mold. Everyone is unique so embrace that and post the things that make you happy!
