In this modern era, more and more people are spending time on social media. It has now not only become a standard way to keep in touch with your friends but is also a lot of people’s source for news and entertainment.
While this has been a wonderful advancement in the exchange of information and communication, it has also become an addiction for many people. Some people are online so often that they can’t make it longer than a few hours without signing in out of fear of missing something that’s going on. In effect, social media has become a sort of alternate reality which many people have formed a dependency on. It can affect not only your attention span but your overall health in the following ways.
Lack of Productivity
When you are on social media you can find yourself in a trance. You can find yourself scrolling everything from looking at mortgage rates, to what the latest recipes are that take 5 minutes or less. Even though a lot of this information might be interesting, often it doesn’t lead to any tangible action behind it.
The hour that you spent scrolling videos and status updates that resulted in nothing, could have been spent working or even spending time with people that you love. Make sure that you are monitoring what you are getting out of your time online versus what you are putting into it.
Increased Stress
When we force our minds to be in a constant state of receiving information, we may find that our stress levels are increased. Without giving your brain the chance to rest and be silent at least a few times a day, we are keeping a constant chatter inside of our heads.
This not only causes us to be more susceptible to stress but also starts to become depressing.
Lack Of Real Human Connection
When we start to get used to our main interaction with other people being through the screen of our phones or through our computer, we can quickly start to feel a disconnect.
It’s important to not only have relationships that are digital but also face to face connections. There is something unique about a real conversation that makes it feel real and as if we are making a true exchange of human interaction rather than artificial communication.
Lack Of Physical Activity
Sitting around at a computer is one of the least active things that you can do. It’s important that if you work at a computer during the day that you take a few breaks throughout your work day to move a bit or take a walk. This way you can balance out your lack of activity with a burst of energy.