This is EXACTLY the reason why I deleted all my social media. I let go of Facebook first about 8 years ago. Then I deleted Snapchat 2 years ago. And I got rid of Instagram maybe 4 months ago now. I noticed that Instagram triggered my anxiety. I was keeping tabs on people that were no longer apart of my life and honestly heavily lurking on people’s profiles. I saw what I didn’t want to see and those feelings always found their way to me every time I got on the app. I finally had enough of feeling bad about myself and allowing those feelings to succumb me. Now I’m social media free and I feel sooooooo much better. It’s like I’m back in reality again. I enjoy the present time more and feel more connected with myself and others.
I don’t care that I don’t know you personally, or at all really, but I am extremely proud of you! Not only for deleting social media stuff a long time ago, but also for stepping back and recognizing what it was going to you... somewhat like self accountability in a way if that makes sense. I’m glad you did what you felt was best for you, regardless of the fact that social media is so integrated into our lives now. I haven’t deleted any of my stuff, I just rarely go on Facebook and that’s it.. What tipped me over the edge was getting an INSANE amount of followers on Instagram, actually getting paid really good money to take pics of free stuff sent to me, etc; but also trying to keep up with all of it and all the letters being sent to me( I still feel horrible I have stacks and stacks of letters I stilll haven’t written back to). I just couldn’t handle it and I just shut off all notifications off of every app. Like I said, I look at Facebook here and there and that’s it now! I’m happy that I’ve been back using this account to just watch my fav youtubers for the past couple years :) If anyone actually gave a fuck enough to read this, I love you lol. I literally NEVER comment, so thanks for taking the time
More often than not I would say social media makes me feel lonely instead of connected. I’ll be having a bad day, thinking “I have no one”, and then go on social media and see all of the people I know living their lives, then I feel jealous/angry/sad that everyone else has lives and I don’t. It can also make me feel guilty about reaching out because I don’t want to interrupt whatever they’re posting about or ruin their good time if they appear to be having one. I know that’s dramatic and unrealistic but depressed/anxious brain is not realistic. Lol On the flip side it gives me ideas and inspiration when I’m in a rut.
I think social media has definitely helped me waste a lot of my life. Instead of doing things that could better my life or spending time with people I care about, I’m content to spend all day in bed on Twitter. I know spending all day in bed isn’t always a bad thing, but I would feel much better about myself if I spent that time reading or doing schoolwork or quite literally anything but scrolling through Instagram or watching makeup videos. I deleted Instagram a while ago because I felt it had the most negative impact out of all of my social media. Now I just use twitter to share videos like these and to keep in contact with some friends. Overall, I think social media can be great for political reasons or to talk to people who live half the world away from you, but for day-to-day use, it seems to keep people like me content with not living a life. I hope to get rid of all my social media eventually.
yessss I totally understand the feeling of "wasting" a lot of your life on social media. a lot of it is pointless and not helping us learn and grow, even though there are tons of things on it that can, sadly that's not the majority of what is on the internet. good for you for making a change!
same here i’m addicted to twitter. what i like about it is that people don’t only show their best, they talk about depression and how much their lives suck so it’s relateable. but i feel the same way. i’m always opening the app without realizing, or meaning to. it sucks.
I think you can pull off a lot of hair colors but I have to say, red/orange is by far my favorite on you. It just looks so good! So props, you look beautiful dahling
I don’t know how I feel on this topic. While there are some bad aspects of social media and the internet in general, there are some really good aspects as well! I’ll be honest when I say that my life has genuinely been saved countless times due to the friends I have made on social media. Plus, I’m part of the LGBT+ community and I live in a very conservative town in Texas, so having social media to understand that I’m not alone or wrong in what I’m feeling is so precious! Bad things happen on social media-I was sexually abused as a child on myspace-but I still feel that, in general, social media has done a lot of good. It’s connected people who never had anyone like them around, it allows creators to show their creations to a larger audience, and it helps us stay informed about what’s going on in the world, good and bad.
Honestly I feel like social media makes me worse because I let it make me worse. When I'm on the internet I tend to look for things that trigger my depression, eating disorder, self harm habits, etc. Not because I need "inspiration" but because I wonder what other people are thinking and it honestly has become an addiction.
Personally, I think the generations have never changed, just the resources have evolved. To me, I see social media (especially Twitter), is just like a newspaper. Therefore it's the same concept, but the stigma around technology blocks people's perception of this. Fashion & health magazines are Instagram (Photoshopping bodies has always been an issue with self-esteem, Instagram didn't create it). It's just the transition from paper to electronics. I still think it's unhealthy to be consumed by it, but I don't think in this light there is much difference. Not only does social media allow knowledge, but it's a huge resource for communication! However I agree that physical contact will give more satisfaction. I believe the issue does not lie within social media, it's something humans have always done (doesn't make it always right though, I think no matter what everything should be in moderation). Just my personal opinion! I agree with many of your points as well, though :)
I don't agree that Twitter is like a newspaper, people will often only get one viewpoint (because it is more based on the opinion of people on twitter compared to factual or more balanced information) and more trapped in a bubble of the type of news they consume, if that makes sense? However yes I agree that Instagram is like a modern magazine.
I don't use my phone really (very active on social platforms) but aside from updating them, I'm not spending my time on them. A home? My phone is in the dock in my living room at all times. It AMAZES me how many people have commented on how "weird" it is. I'm sorry, was it weird in the 90's? Fuck nah. If they need me right away, call, volume is on. If they need me not right away? Call/email/text/leave a vm whatever. People really need to get their priorities straight. The people who expect insant replies (aside from time sensitive matters) on electronic devices are now my least favourite kind of person. My boyfriend just has a pay-as-you go phone from Amazon. No calling, no data, just text. Yet both of our jobs are in social media. Maybe that's why we don't use our phones? Regardless, I find myself looking forward to going to the zero-cell service cottage every summer.
Omg I totally agree! I don't use my phone at work, keep it in my bag. When I get home I don't really go on it, I'm used to not being around it. I usually leave it in my purse till about 9'oclock when I'm ready for bed. I've realized the people who get angry about me not replying to their snaps of their food are the worst (like you said), and I don't really care if they're upset. My true friends don't care at all, just like I wouldn't care if they didn't respond to me for a few hours. (Unless of course an emergency!!!)
I don’t have much social media anymore but I’m still addicted to my phone. I’m always holding it like a security blanket. I can’t help but check it every 20 minutes or so. I do try to take breaks from it. I notice my mental health deteriorates when I have Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr in my life, so I got rid of them a couple years ago. I have a private Twitter and Snapchat and that’s it.
in response to the title question: it definitely fed into my chronic mental illnesses + addictions (when I was struggling). I had a decent following online whilst I was a drug addict and I had online 'friends' who made me feel normal for doing drugs and prostituting my body etc by glamorizing it with me / romanticizing their own addictions. not blaming anyone besides myself btw!! just that it didn't help my delusional mindset at the time and made me feel normal and glamorous and like a 'fun party girl'.
I'm the total opposite! I wake up and I am always sooo tired and feeling like I'm gonna fall! But I open my phone and watch a video and suddenly I feel more awake and cheerful. I understand excessive use is not healthy, especially with young children (I'm 12, but I'm on the fairly good side, I don't compare myself to people on the internet because it's mostly fake) I use the internet to learn and to see what's going on with the world. I know me tweeting about how the world is a dark place won't make it suddenly light up, but at least my followers will see what I think and it will make them try to fix the rough problems of the world. I try my best to use the internet as an outlet for my feelings, or something that makes ME feel happy and laugh. But I do absolutely agree with you about young (or old)people with anxiety being impressionable to "perfect" people and feeling like they aren't good enough. Like people who for example watch Jake and Logan Paul, they are impressionable and will think it's ok to do the things they do.
For anyone who has stepped away from their phone for similar reasons as her, I don’t care that I don’t know you personally, or at all really, but I am extremely proud of you! Not only for that, but also for stepping back and recognizing what it was doing to you... somewhat like self accountability in a way if that makes sense. I’m glad you did what you felt was best for you, regardless of the fact that social media is so integrated into our lives now. I haven’t deleted any of my stuff, I just rarely go on Facebook and that’s it.. What tipped me over the edge was getting an INSANE amount of followers on Instagram, actually getting paid really good money to take pics of free stuff sent to me, etc; but also trying to keep up with all of it and all the letters being sent to me( I still feel horrible I have stacks and stacks of letters I stilll haven’t written back to). I just couldn’t handle it and I just shut off all notifications off of every app. Like I said, I look at Facebook here and there and that’s it now! I’m happy that I’ve been back using this account to just watch my fav youtubers for the past couple years :) If anyone actually gave a fuck enough to read this, I love you lol. I literally NEVER comment, so thanks for taking the time
I didn't have Internet growing up, I got my first laptop when I was 16 and only last year i bought my smart phone. When I was little we had a shared phone with my siblings so that our parents could reach us at home. Before buying a smart phone, I would sometimes forget to even take my mobile with me. Now it feels that I have to have it with me if someone wants to be in touch. Perhaps if I'm just running errands or going to a local grocery store, I could just leave it home. I get easily irritated by hate comments/stupid people on social media. When I'm reading a controversial article I have to force myself not to read the comments. I have found that platforms like deviantart, instagram and youtube are great places for finding inspiration and sharing your own work. Though on instagram I have way too many interesting posts saved. Btw I love your new hair. Also just realized it was Monday 'cause of your upload. I love your opinions and your videos make my day. Hannah Witton spend a week without her phone. It was inspiring and I think everyone should try it. Last summer I spent a month without Internet and social media etc, because my laptop broke.
Your words and all of the comments have really made me think about my social media habits. I‘ve given it some thought before and I knew that I was definitely addicted (which I‘ve never been proud of), but as of right now i 100% feel the need to take more time off of social media. It‘s insane how much time we spend on all of those apps.
The hardest thing for me is seeing all these tiny ladies posting pics of their huge desserts and junk food every day. I have really been struggling to lose weight but I just don't have that kind of metabolism so I get upset by it, even though I don't they honestly eat all of it
I actually love this video because I agree 100% with everything you’re saying. I used to be obsessed with social media.... I recently deactivated my Facebook. I want to use my phone less and less, but I have a long way to go. I definitely have compared myself to others, but my issue is I want to be more in the moment!! I’m tired of having to photograph everything I do... and I want to be more private. I would rather be outdoors, reading, etc. I miss the “olden” days too! I was born in ‘92, and I remember the days without a cell phone & social media! Those are memories I’ll cherish forever, I’m glad I grew up in the 90’s.
Your hair looks so pretty! I love the color. Also, I really admire seeing you not wearing makeup in your videos, it’s so cool to see a girl being confident and embracing her natural beauty. ❤️
I love you for talking about this 💜💜💜💜 whenever I’m at work I always put my phone away and try and socialize with coworkers but everyone else is always obsessed with their phones
I completely agree with you on this topic! i recently went about 4 months without social media and it honestly felt so freeing and i felt less distracted. i decoted more time to doing things i liked and found myself generally in a better mood. because of this, i totally agree that although social media has good parts, its more or less toxic and harmful.
It certainly can contribute to mental illnesses. Another thing is that is promotes impatience, the sense that everything is immediate and urgent; can create issues with impulse control or negate delay in gratification. We focus on now, now, now and that can cause stress and anxieties: why didn’t they text me back? Why haven’t I heard from so and so? etc
as someone who's emotionally dependant, I totally feel left out because of the 'seen' and friends stories etc. It surely doesn't help ! Instagram has really put thought into the urgent with their 'buy what they're wearing' feature
I’ve been watching you for I’m not quite sure how long but it’s in the multiple years, I remember you making your horror channel. I just looked at your subscriber count and it surprised me! You definitely deserve so much more in my opinion. When you mentioned getting rid of social media or ignoring your phone could be self care it struck me since I’ve deactivated my Facebook account several times because I was in a mood/just felt negative side effects from having/looking at it and I always felt I was being dramatic but it’s nice to hear someone say I was justified in my actions.
(lengthy comment I'm sorry lol) First off, I'm living for your hair! And second, yes!!! I am so glad to hear someone talk about this! I actually did a persuasive speech in my public speaking class on why social media negatively affects our mental health. I did a little experiment and asked about 10 of my friends (all girls) whether or not social media had a negative influence on them and they all said yes. Despite this...people stared at me like I had 5 heads during the speech and maybe one or two people nodded in agreement. And despite all of my friends saying yes, some of them are avid users and, honestly, addicts to social media. I feel like this issue sums up all of the younger people of our time (15-30 year olds). We care about mental health but we're also still thriving off of the things that have affected our mental health. The power of the people who are so recognizable (like celebs) and current technology is too much for any of us to just put the phones down and step away... to see things from other perspectives. It will never be possible to go back, and we will never stay the same, but how do we go forward without causing further damage???? Sometimes this shit keeps me up at night because the good is SO good but the bad is SO bad! How do we change that!? Honestly someone reply with ideas if possible hahaha
Hey girl! I am 25 years old and I came to the same realization just lately! I can so relate to this topic ! I started to spend more time off my phone, cos same I did realize How I have phone addiction! Same goes to spending more quality time and I did learn how to take care of myself through small details. I can relate to each word of yours and how awesome there is people like u who I can relate! P.s instagram does make me feel anxious especially in the mornings! Every time I came back to this channel cos its honest! Thank u^^
Today was the last day of a one month social media cleanse for me. I did it with the intent to hinder a lot of the comparing I was doing to other people. I have dealt with depression and anxiety for a while now and I feel like it really helped to unplug. Today I logged onto instagram (and saw your post about this video!) and I feel like I now have a new perspective of how to use it in a positive manor for myself. I think that social media can both cause and worsen mental illness, but if you learn to look at it objectively you are less likely to react negatively to it! I also found that I am no longer mindlessly scrolling through my social medias throughout the day. :) love your videos!
Love this and I agree! Its addictive. Everytime you get a message you get a dopamine-rush in your brain. I want to live more offline. Its stressing that everyone can reach you all the time and so on...
I am the same. When my depression got severe I had to delete my social media apps because I feel myself getting into that dark place. I ended up redownloading them once I got better. I agree that I am addicted but at the same time I have this feeling that I don't want to be on my phone. I want to just turn it off and I never want to take it with me. But there is little voice in the back of my head saying that if I don't have my phone with me I won't be able to call someone during an emergency or I'll miss something aka what you said about fomo. Now and days I am trying to not be on my phone and be more aware of the outside world. What I do is keep my phone with me because it really is my only form of communication (I don't have a house phone). And the times I'm constantly on my phone/ social media and I stop myself and put it away and grab a book. Love your channel
I feel the same way about my phone..it makes me so mad sometimes that I feel like I can’t be away from it. But I’m reading more and moving back home from overseas in two weeks so rn i dont care about my phone and being on it but it’s deff changing when my life is back to normal. Loved this video 💛
Yesss this video was amazing and well versed!! I deleted my instagram maybe a year ago. I only use snapchat now to keep in touch w my close friends who i personally know. Having instagram wasnt fulfilling which is why I deleted it. I had followers I didnt know and was liking pictures I didnt truly like if that makes sense lol. It was taking up so much of my free time and I didnt like feeling obligated to post or like things. I also started caring about my own likes and it hurt my self esteem. I now enjoy being less connected to my phone and less social media means less time wasted on my phone and more time for self care. Also note to self: buy a puzzle asap. 2nd thing I saw today about puzzles. The universe wants me to get into puzzles and im here for it! Great video and topic Sarah and ironically qcknd inspired me to finally ditch my instagram when I did. Funny how things come full circle. Keep up the great work! Your hair looks adorable btw
I know I'm a little late getting to this, but the discussion of upward comparison on social media really resonated with me. I remember a few months ago I was discussing with my therapist how I always felt pathetic looking at my friends' profiles because a lot of their pictures seem to be with other people and most of mine are just me alone and I feel depressed about it. Not exactly what you were talking about maybe, but it ties in.
Social media is generally bad, for me at least. Every time I'm on Instagram or Facebook I start comparing myself to other people and it triggers my depression. I try to stay away from it but it just sucks me back in everytime because I still want to stay connected to other people and a lot of of the time it seems like that's the only way to do that.
Very good video. I also notice that going on twitter a lot makes me feel bad and sad. But for me it’s not so much the happy tweets that make me feel bad but when people constantly tweet how lonely and sad they are I start to think „well I‘m also kinda lonely“ and then it’ll just snowball and I‘ll feel terrible. So it’s definitely a good idea to try and be less connected
I also get that and I'm sorry because I'm the kind of people who need to write down their feelings so it can be out there and not holding on to me. Also, most political news makes me feel bad lately so I've been avoiding twitter kinda
I totally agree with you! I think this video really made realise I need a break too, and stop the mindless scrolling. Thank you for another insightful video xx
I also think social media can be good and bad like you said, but it also depends on how you use it and see it. I also only got my first computer when I was 18 and the phone I had at that time was a Nokia that just let me text, call and play snake. I feel like social media never was a big thing to me until I started sharing my art online. It was great to be able to reach so many people. As an artist it's super important to have critics to grow. But then if we let ourselves get affected by the number, it can be destructive. We all just want more, but in real life I would never be able to reach half as many people as I do now. It's already so good and I'm so grateful for the people that comments my art. So this is how I try to see social media: just being able to reach my best friend that lives 3 567,0 km away from me and be able to have a live conversation, without wasting money, it's already a miracle xD
Going on social media genuinely makes me depressed, and it triggers my anxiety when I see other people's posts about how much better their lives are compared to mine. Deleted everything at the start of the year, and my mental health has never been better!
Definitely get you. When I was in College I would have a lot of free time and when I woke up I would immediately go through instagram and boy, did that trigger my anxiety. Even now, the days when I have more free time to 'relax' and more time to scroll, I usually am more anxious than the days when I'm completely busy and won't stop. I also find it quite difficult to remain focused on one task only, which is also unnerving. Fortunately as I am growing older I also give more value to the 'be bored' time as it is great for spontaneous walks, creativity and new activities. I don't binge watch Netflix anymore, I try to restrict my social media habits, and also am learning to draw and started reading so much more. In addition, I've also noticed that I started to crave traveling, but not only as a form of seeing the world and having fun and learning, but I felt that if I didn't than I wasn't good enough and wasn't living enough. Man, it's one of the things I love the most and I was doing it for all the wrong reasons.
On January 2017, I decided to not use Intagram for a whole year because it was messing so much with my mental health it was ridiculous. So I commited and didn't use it for a whole year, I didn't even looked at my friend's posts, and I can't stress enough how good this was for me. Since then, I have returned to use it regularly and I still enjoy it, but I just find myself much more smart about it and I don't let it consume me anymore (and if I feel like it's beginning to bring me down again, I just log out for a few hour or days until it doesn't bother me). I think that, as much fun as social media is, we all need a detox from time to time.
A self-care video would be great!! This video was a good reminder to step away sometimes.. I know that social media is mainly bad for me personally and I need to spend more time away from it - especially the comment section haha. Good food for thought. I also just looked up puzzles cause that sounds super fun:)
I'm with you on the social media thing. I was born in 1980 so didn't have a mobile until I was 17 and didn't have the internet in my home until my 20s. I feel so attached to my phone and feel compelled to check my social media regularly. I've put an application on my phone that allows me an hour on each app daily to try and stop me constantly scrolling. I've started paying attention to my shows more, tho my partner refuses and is always scrolling. I've cleared out who I follow on Instagram and only follow people that motivate me and make me happy. As soon as I have a bad thought about an account, like comparing myself, I just unfollow. I am reading more and also got back into painting and drawing to occupy my spare time. I do miss out on some things, like gigs and events but I'm fine with it right now. The travel and posing thing is just all over now. Staged and heavily edited photos are some of the things I don't like to follow. I follow a lot of van life accounts, but they're all the real ones that show the not so glam side of things. I'm nearing 40 so it's super important to me to have a positive image of myself, and sometimes social media isn't the best thing for that. But again that's why I try and follow body positive real people. It's hard sometimes!
Same! I feel so mad sometimes, and it's because I feel constrained to absorb so much media before everything else. I hate it! I've taken some lengths to delete apps and some channels I follow. I've been feeling a lot better about myself.
I think I needed this video. I've been having low self-esteem and social media definetly makes me feel worse. Sometimes I want to quit every social media but I just can't.. I wish could.
Because it is sooo ingrained in how we live now, there needs to, first of all, basic mental health classes in schools, and some of those classes should be dedicated to dealing with how social media manipulates us. In every generation there are things older people don’t like because they aren’t ‘in it’, but most of those things are a new way of life and won’t go away so we need to figure out a way to have social media without damaging some of the younger or more isolated users.
This video was really interesting! Not gonna lie, I love social media, and I personally feel like I gain more inspiration from it than depression, but I AM a bit too addicted. It does help that I still use a prepaid phone (still a smart phone though), and therefore never go online on places where I don't have access to wifi, or where I need to ask about getting a password. What you said about only checking your phone when there's something spesific you need to check, sound like a good habit. Definitly gonna try that!
Facebook wanted my real surname with documents to prove it. I said hell no, I'm not uploading any documents to facebook, thank you very much. Since then I have been blocked by fb. Best thing ever! :D it was just such a waste of time!
It's hard for me to get rid of Facebook as there is groups for university stuff and events that I wouldn't know about otherwise, also I've got more people on Messenger than in my actual phone contacts (idk if that's just me?)
Social media definitely made my depression and anxiety a lot worse! thinking that you're worthless and your life sucks and seeing people who seem to live the perfect life when they're barely 20 made me feel like shit! i'm working on it and i've stopped going on instagram and watching those "going to the other side of the world on a private jet" kinda vlogs!
Honestly, it disgusts me that I'm so addicted to my phone. I find myself watching UA-cam on my TV while simultaneously scrolling through Instagram. I can't even focus on one thing anymore. I'm not going to categorize it as "multitasking" either. It's like I try to watch everything to make sure I'm not missing out, yet none of it is really fulfilling anyway. I'm glad you made this video because I'm going to make an effort to distance myself from my phone.
All the stories definitely makes me have this fear of missing out and sometimes I unfollow people who make me feel bad but, in the discover section, I'll find others to replace them and it goes on and on (feeling ugly and not stylish/aesthetic enough, especially on Instagram)
Great video ! Your channel has been helping me a lot . It's quiet good when you can share different perspective of seeing the world and especially when u suffer from mental illness like anxiety and you see you're not the only one. Thanks xD
I grew up obsessed with the internet and all the new social media that was coming out but I didn't realize how "addicted" I had become until recently. I would waste so much time mindlessly clicking back and forth through twitter, facebook, instagram, youtube and somehow still wonder why I had such a hard time getting things done. I ended up deleting a few apps on my phone, logging out of all of my social media on my laptop, unsubscribing from a ton of youtube channels + replacing them with educational channels and putting my phone on do not disturb all day. It has helped me tremendously. I do my best to replace what would be my mindless clicking time with reading and now I read so much quicker than I've ever been able to. I feel so much better about how I spend my days now. I definitely do think that social media can contribute to the development of mental illness or can worsen mental illness. I think it all depends on how you use it
I feel like the only teen (I'm 15) who isn't addicted to their phone or at least in my circle. On weekend where I don't need to have my phone on me I often forget I even have one and go without posting with no shame. Now I do have a lot of social media but I believe I don't really and have never really followed people who seem 'perfect' in the life sense. I tend to like accounts where they're honest about their mental state. I'm on instagram and the problems you talk about and being convinced of certain things have never been a problem to me. I've learned a lot about politics, self care, mental health, culture, info about the lgbtq+ community so on which has really really helped me in my own journey. I must say when I was dealing with my worst mentally i still never looked at those 'perfect' people but I did connect to a network that both validated my feeling because they shared them, and brought me down because we all felt hopeless. Disconnecting from that following positivity accounts really helped me seek help. Usually my phone is on silent and I've taught myself not to feel anxious about not responding immediately. A lot of my classmates freak out if they don't get a response within 10 minutes and I can take hours. We talked about this phone addiction thing in school in my group of about 7 people I was the only one who passed the test on not being an addiction, that's kinda sad to me. I was never taught to do things this way, and I actually really enjoy my phone, and what I can do with it but in the end I'm know can put it down not feel like I'm missing out or something. We did have a landlines for a small bit know my life, I watched kids movies on tapes and such but only very briefly. I've had Facebook before I was ten and yet I don't think I've ever let it keep me from doing other things. I'll read, I'll draw and I won't be thinking about my phone. Now a jigsaw puzzle would be fun but I did a 3D one not that long ago ;)
I feel the smell about not having a phone during my childhood, I got a basic phone when I was 15 (we’re the same age btw) I grew up drawing ALL THE TIME, and while school and other priorities got it the way of that precious hobby, social media and consuming more content drove me further away from enjoying certain hobbies I once had, it’s so hard to make time for those things when we’re so distracted by our phones
Social media used to be more fun than it is now and I think this is partly because it has become a tool for consumerism (lifestyle as well as material possessions). In the past it was more about communication and genuine connections.
It is so crazy how addicted we all our to our phones. I’ve not someone who posts on social media all the time but I do have them and check them constantly. It definitely doesn’t do me any good so I’ve recently turned off notifications on all social media apps. Thinking about deleting some next. Also I have anxiety and depression so I notice it just increases my negative thoughts and feeling. Social media, especially Instagram, makes me buy things spontaneously. I’m usually a very rational and frugal spender but the more I’m on instagram the more I want to buy new clothes or makeup.
How is your friend doing Sarah? Did she have the little baby I hope everything went well and that they are both happy healthy and safe, I’m thinking of you all and I’m sending all my love and support to all of you! ❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 I do believe that social media causes so much stress, anxiety and yes even mental illness we have the whole world at our fingertips and that can be very overwhelming, thank you so much for making this very relevant video you have helped so much by starting a discussion, as that is the only way humanity and Society can move forward towards a better future for everyone and everything, thank you so much Sarah xxxxxxxxx
As someone whos been struggling with a variety of issues, I made the conscious decision to delete my facebook about a week ago and it has been such a breath of fresh air. I am clearly in a very different place than those who I follow and who follow me as well as those on my specific facebook are very unsupportive, even negative at times, of me, my interests and hobbies. I also have and readily use an Instagram and Twitter, but have been able to create 'social media' time at the end of every day for an hour or so and have seen myself grow re-interested in many things I use to love back in high school and early in college before I joined social media. For me and my mental and emotional health journey logging off has been wonderful!!
I haven't watched the whole video yet, wanted to say though, since I was about 16, I realised that my use of social media affected my mental health severely. I stopped using social media and haven't used it in about three years. And now I can see exactly how it negatively effected me. ...I based my self worth on what others thought of me...seeing people's posts of them having a nice life, having a car, going on holiday ect made me literally curl up in a ball and cry because my life felt shitty in comparison. Removing things that didn't get the response I wanted, posting things becaus I knew other people would like them and not because I liked them. Editing my body to unholy proportions just to feel like I sort of matched up with people who I thought were prettier than me. Even when I was going through those things, I'd still tell myself that I didn't care what people thought of me. But looking back now, I know it seemed like the most important thing in life to post a status everyday, or a tweet or a blog. To stay relevant, being on the other side of all of that and seeing who I was and what social media did to me, I couldn't be more thankful that I quit. Because even though I still have issues with valuing myself properly and believing what I want regardless of what other people think. I know I am so much happier and truly not a single piece of myself worth is based on what strangers think of me on the internet. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that this is the case with every person who used social media, because I think learning more about the world and just growing up in general helps you realise you are more than what people put on your profile. But I was so young I wasn't able to see all these things I needed to see. Tldr; I think it can massively effect young peoples mental health to consistently use social media. From personal experience.
I'm the complete opposite when it comes to my phone LOL. I'm always losing it and I never charge it (which pisses everyone off when they're trying to reach me). Running an online business makes it hard for me to distance myself from the "screen" (that being the computer screen) and I'm constantly online whether for a conference call, to check orders, answer emails, doing taxes, managing the social media accounts and blogs associated with my online store. But I'm hardly ever actually doing any of this on my phone (which is why I hardly update IG). My FB feed is just photos of my friends babies (they cute but I don't care lol) and fake news shared by my mom and other old people in my family lol. So I'm never on there either. I pretty much stick with Tumblr and Etsy and promoting on IG when ever I can find my phone LMAO. Great video. I do think people have a tendency to compare themselves with others way more when they're spending hours on FB and IG. My boyfriend and I were just talking about how we wish Instagram culture would die out and we can go back to everyone not giving a shit if their eyebrows are slaying. I'm also sick of the overpriced garbage that most IG models are pushing lol. Either way.. I haven't updated my personal IG since (I think) Valentines Day LOL. Ain't nobody got time for dat lol.
I've been feeling drained by social media lately. I deleted my Facebook and Twitter apps a few weeks ago. I still have Instagram, Snapchat, and Tumblr. I don't really have a big problem with comparing myself to others but I found having to see others different political opinions on everything all the time would just piss me off. It's nice to disconnect from that and not having those apps also forces me to find something to do since I can't browse them mindlessly anymore.
I've taken to cleaning out my social media the way I clean out my closet. I go through the people I follow (and the people that follow me) and I get rid of the ones I don't talk to, don't remember following, etc. For me social media should feel like a community space, not a space that gives me anxiety or is hurtful. however i think I'm privileged to be able to do this because I don't need social media for marketing purposes. I probably have like less than 100 Facebook friends, and about 150 instagram followers and I LIKE IT that way. I'm not sure when we all decided we needed to be instagram famous, but I really hope more people use social media for themselves. Its really nice to not cater to others all the time and I would encourage those of you who don't need social media for income to do so.
I wholeheartedly agree. I am not sure that I could say that I had an addiction to social media, I will say that I incorrectly used it as a coping mechanism in a stressful time. And while there are many supportive people that would be there for me on social media, I realize now that engaging with them in that way, and at the same time being exposed to the content and atmosphere that my social media contacts spoke about and shared, all of those things together really weren't good to me. It actually increased my anxiety and it enabled me to avoid time I really needed to clear my head. So at the end of 2016 (I wonder why that year is significant? Hmm. Mystery) I didn't delete my Facebook, I didn't dramatically quit Facebook I just stopped using it. This was the best decision that I could have made. And guess what? No one noticed that I wasn't there mainly because Facebook just became a place to constantly focus on stressful things and to vent; there was always something immediate to preoccupy people. And it really isn't healthy to be in a place that is all about sharing stressful news and woes whether you have your own stress and woes or not. So now, I check my messages once a week maybe. I give my phone number to people if they need to contact me directly. I make sure I am calm when I read the news and take time to read it from trusted sources that won't sensationalize (places that are boring AF), and reach out to people that I have meaningful interactions with. People that I can equally share good and exciting things with as well as things that are bothering me, and vice versa for them. So often people value quantity over quality with socializing online, when the good parts about it shine when you keep in mind quality and you don't settle for a bunch of low quality interactions that contain more baggage than good.
I Totally agree. I try to do stuff without my phone too on a daily bases, leaving it in another room in the meanwhile for example. The puzzle game with music & wine sounds cute to do with my boyfriend, thanks for the idea! I'm anyways keeping just youtube or social media that makes me laugh like 9gag or stuff where there's just memes, so i'm actually having a good laugh instead of worrying about someone else
I really like what you said, i want to just, keep listening to it over and over to keep the right perspective in mind. I don't see a huge affect on depression in my life due to social media, but I DO find myself feeling foggy, unfocused, and just unfulfilled after I've wasted some time on my phone. Additionally, I do get tired of feeling like I have to respond to people. It's like a mosquito buzzing in my ear. I get to the point where I want people to leave me alone. I also keep asking the question, what would be outlet be today if i didn't have social media? How would I be expressing my thoughts and feelings? Would I still be doing _____ if social media didn't exist? I believe I'm like a year older than you so I too feel lucky to have been able to grow up without the constant poking of smart phones and the internet. I still find myself believing that it could all disappear in an instant, like that this is temporary so we shouldn't get used to it. If it all just went poof and was gone, then what would we have left? I think we all need to find a balance and maybe one day a more balanced lifestyle will be the norm, who knows!
This video is so on point wow 🙏🏻 I always knew I had some kind of depression due to sm but this put it in perspective 👌🏻 thank you so much this helps so much
Hi Sarah! Im almost 30 yrs old, and like you, most of my live I lived without a cellphone. I think my aunt got me one for my 18th birthday and was just for texting. I'm so sad that today's generation cannot be without a phone anymore. For example, yesterday I go out for dinner with my hun and started looking around. Everyone, and I meant EVERY SINGLE PERSON was with a phone, non talking to each other.. I used to be kinda adicted to my cellphone a year ago and tried so hard to upload nice pictures on instagram and do this and that and then I thought WHY?? I just wanted to impress a person I didn't even knew. Sometimes looking at pictures of perfect build bodies made me feel bad about myself and so self concious of thing I didnt have. So I created a goalf for myself, just like you. Read at least 30 min a day, go out and play with my two huge dogs, angry my cat, decorate the house and put most of my energy in what I really like, that's art. I love drawing and that's other thing that social media is good and bad for. Good for global aknowledgment of your work, but sometimes it made me feel so less when I started comparing my art with others so that's when I put a stop about spending hours scrolling through pinterest or insta, and put my energy on the paper and the pencil. Ok that's a lot hehe Lots of love, from a follower from Argentina.
Loved this Video! I‘m such a phone addict! And I don‘t like that, but it‘s really hard to overcome the constant need to pick it up.. i‘m not that much into social media more into whatsapp, youtube and I need to answer instantly if someone texted 🙈 thats so annoying...
A few months ago, I removed my acne for a selfie that was supposed to be perfect for Instagram and the instant regret after posting was HARD! I don't even know if I should delete that or not tbh. But now, I'm planning on actually taking more selfies but with no airbrushing at all. I deleted the app. Even if I have 300 something followers, I want to show people that you can be beautiful and have acne too. I really with I could be more influential and help fighting the stigma around acne. It doesn't make you ugly, it's not "dirty", it's not "gross", it's just mostly a hormonal thing. I treat my skin like a little princess, and it still happens. And I wish more people would understand that.
I’m glad that I personally do not feel the urge to check my phone even though I have a nice, updated iPhone and social media on it. In all honesty, social media is too much work for me, so I simply couldn’t be bothered; I am also not that interested which is a blessing. The only apps I constantly check are UA-cam and gmail these days. I also have my phone on do not disturb 24/7; it makes my parents mad bc I don’t respond to their texts right away. It does feel good to not be glued to my phone though; the whole complete interest in the program I’m watching on Netflix is the best, I get super invested and it’s great.
I often feel sad and miserable when I go on social media and see some people doing this and looking better etc. And it makes me feel like I'm left out and not doing anything exciting. It's more of a stronger feeling right now, because I'm just stuck in this weird time of not knowing what to do and what to study, I've been so upset about it this past year, and social media is the place that makes me feel more awful. I think that social media has grown to be place of showing of your best parts of life(or make it seem like it) and some people even earn money out of creating this "oh I'm so perfect" etc., and it makes other's feel more miserable than they really are. I remember when the social media wasn't as much of a show off than it is now. I'm not judging anyone, it's my opinion. But just the thing that makes me upset is that people are tending to be someone else and not being real to themselves and showing other's what life is really like. P.S. Sarah, I really love your videos and the topics you bring up, because it brings awareness to certain things that some people don't talk about! 😊
I totally agree. I think that social media can contribute to mental illness. I think it can also cause mental illness especially in case of eating disorders. But I think it can also help a lot of people. Even before social media there were unhealthy body images and magazines full of people that had a 'better' life than you. Great video thanks:)
I had to left Facebook for 3 days because of a kind of "fight" in a group with my classmates, personally I believe that if we discussed the topic in person there wouldn't be misunderstanding. In social media every one change their ways to be and of course that affect our mental health
I too am making an effort to stay away from my phone and all that, it's draining. I see the positives in it but it's too much at times.
READY TO GLARE I LOVE U💜
YES it can be so draining some days it's amazing the internet has that much power over us.
This is EXACTLY the reason why I deleted all my social media. I let go of Facebook first about 8 years ago. Then I deleted Snapchat 2 years ago. And I got rid of Instagram maybe 4 months ago now. I noticed that Instagram triggered my anxiety. I was keeping tabs on people that were no longer apart of my life and honestly heavily lurking on people’s profiles. I saw what I didn’t want to see and those feelings always found their way to me every time I got on the app. I finally had enough of feeling bad about myself and allowing those feelings to succumb me. Now I’m social media free and I feel sooooooo much better. It’s like I’m back in reality again. I enjoy the present time more and feel more connected with myself and others.
Sydney Belvado amen! I feel exactly the same.
i feel ya, constantly checking instagram was giving me major anxiety and i feel so much better without it.
HOW DO YOU DELETE SNAPCHAT ACCOUNT? I want to do that but I haven’t been able to figure it out
I don’t care that I don’t know you personally, or at all really, but I am extremely proud of you! Not only for deleting social media stuff a long time ago, but also for stepping back and recognizing what it was going to you... somewhat like self accountability in a way if that makes sense.
I’m glad you did what you felt was best for you, regardless of the fact that social media is so integrated into our lives now. I haven’t deleted any of my stuff, I just rarely go on Facebook and that’s it..
What tipped me over the edge was getting an INSANE amount of followers on Instagram, actually getting paid really good money to take pics of free stuff sent to me, etc; but also trying to keep up with all of it and all the letters being sent to me( I still feel horrible I have stacks and stacks of letters I stilll haven’t written back to). I just couldn’t handle it and I just shut off all notifications off of every app.
Like I said, I look at Facebook here and there and that’s it now! I’m happy that I’ve been back using this account to just watch my fav youtubers for the past couple years :)
If anyone actually gave a fuck enough to read this, I love you lol. I literally NEVER comment, so thanks for taking the time
Sydney Belvado wow this is AMAZING! I hope to delete all my social media as well!!! That’s a goal of mine!
More often than not I would say social media makes me feel lonely instead of connected. I’ll be having a bad day, thinking “I have no one”, and then go on social media and see all of the people I know living their lives, then I feel jealous/angry/sad that everyone else has lives and I don’t. It can also make me feel guilty about reaching out because I don’t want to interrupt whatever they’re posting about or ruin their good time if they appear to be having one. I know that’s dramatic and unrealistic but depressed/anxious brain is not realistic. Lol On the flip side it gives me ideas and inspiration when I’m in a rut.
I think social media has definitely helped me waste a lot of my life. Instead of doing things that could better my life or spending time with people I care about, I’m content to spend all day in bed on Twitter. I know spending all day in bed isn’t always a bad thing, but I would feel much better about myself if I spent that time reading or doing schoolwork or quite literally anything but scrolling through Instagram or watching makeup videos. I deleted Instagram a while ago because I felt it had the most negative impact out of all of my social media. Now I just use twitter to share videos like these and to keep in contact with some friends. Overall, I think social media can be great for political reasons or to talk to people who live half the world away from you, but for day-to-day use, it seems to keep people like me content with not living a life. I hope to get rid of all my social media eventually.
yessss I totally understand the feeling of "wasting" a lot of your life on social media. a lot of it is pointless and not helping us learn and grow, even though there are tons of things on it that can, sadly that's not the majority of what is on the internet. good for you for making a change!
same here i’m addicted to twitter. what i like about it is that people don’t only show their best, they talk about depression and how much their lives suck so it’s relateable. but i feel the same way. i’m always opening the app without realizing, or meaning to. it sucks.
I think you can pull off a lot of hair colors but I have to say, red/orange is by far my favorite on you. It just looks so good! So props, you look beautiful dahling
I don’t know how I feel on this topic. While there are some bad aspects of social media and the internet in general, there are some really good aspects as well! I’ll be honest when I say that my life has genuinely been saved countless times due to the friends I have made on social media. Plus, I’m part of the LGBT+ community and I live in a very conservative town in Texas, so having social media to understand that I’m not alone or wrong in what I’m feeling is so precious! Bad things happen on social media-I was sexually abused as a child on myspace-but I still feel that, in general, social media has done a lot of good. It’s connected people who never had anyone like them around, it allows creators to show their creations to a larger audience, and it helps us stay informed about what’s going on in the world, good and bad.
Short comment: This video needs to be everywhere. I wish I can go back in time and found your channel.
self care video is a good idea!
Honestly I feel like social media makes me worse because I let it make me worse. When I'm on the internet I tend to look for things that trigger my depression, eating disorder, self harm habits, etc. Not because I need "inspiration" but because I wonder what other people are thinking and it honestly has become an addiction.
I asked my grandmother if social media could cause mental illness and she started laughing saying “I think it does, in some people yes”
Personally, I think the generations have never changed, just the resources have evolved. To me, I see social media (especially Twitter), is just like a newspaper. Therefore it's the same concept, but the stigma around technology blocks people's perception of this. Fashion & health magazines are Instagram (Photoshopping bodies has always been an issue with self-esteem, Instagram didn't create it). It's just the transition from paper to electronics. I still think it's unhealthy to be consumed by it, but I don't think in this light there is much difference. Not only does social media allow knowledge, but it's a huge resource for communication! However I agree that physical contact will give more satisfaction. I believe the issue does not lie within social media, it's something humans have always done (doesn't make it always right though, I think no matter what everything should be in moderation). Just my personal opinion! I agree with many of your points as well, though :)
I don't agree that Twitter is like a newspaper, people will often only get one viewpoint (because it is more based on the opinion of people on twitter compared to factual or more balanced information) and more trapped in a bubble of the type of news they consume, if that makes sense?
However yes I agree that Instagram is like a modern magazine.
except a newspaper has a last page
omg your haaaair
I love it!
mehdigeek:. It is gorgeous, isn't it.
I'm not really into social media but if I were, I know it would mess me up
I don't use my phone really (very active on social platforms) but aside from updating them, I'm not spending my time on them. A home? My phone is in the dock in my living room at all times. It AMAZES me how many people have commented on how "weird" it is. I'm sorry, was it weird in the 90's? Fuck nah.
If they need me right away, call, volume is on.
If they need me not right away? Call/email/text/leave a vm whatever.
People really need to get their priorities straight.
The people who expect insant replies (aside from time sensitive matters) on electronic devices are now my least favourite kind of person.
My boyfriend just has a pay-as-you go phone from Amazon. No calling, no data, just text. Yet both of our jobs are in social media. Maybe that's why we don't use our phones?
Regardless, I find myself looking forward to going to the zero-cell service cottage every summer.
Omg I totally agree! I don't use my phone at work, keep it in my bag. When I get home I don't really go on it, I'm used to not being around it. I usually leave it in my purse till about 9'oclock when I'm ready for bed. I've realized the people who get angry about me not replying to their snaps of their food are the worst (like you said), and I don't really care if they're upset. My true friends don't care at all, just like I wouldn't care if they didn't respond to me for a few hours. (Unless of course an emergency!!!)
Splitleaf I wish I could say the same. I’m trying harder to restrain myself from spending so much time on my phone
*YOUR HAIR IS SLAYING MY EXISTENCE*
I don’t have much social media anymore but I’m still addicted to my phone. I’m always holding it like a security blanket. I can’t help but check it every 20 minutes or so. I do try to take breaks from it. I notice my mental health deteriorates when I have Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr in my life, so I got rid of them a couple years ago. I have a private Twitter and Snapchat and that’s it.
in response to the title question: it definitely fed into my chronic mental illnesses + addictions (when I was struggling). I had a decent following online whilst I was a drug addict and I had online 'friends' who made me feel normal for doing drugs and prostituting my body etc by glamorizing it with me / romanticizing their own addictions. not blaming anyone besides myself btw!! just that it didn't help my delusional mindset at the time and made me feel normal and glamorous and like a 'fun party girl'.
I'm the total opposite! I wake up and I am always sooo tired and feeling like I'm gonna fall! But I open my phone and watch a video and suddenly I feel more awake and cheerful.
I understand excessive use is not healthy, especially with young children (I'm 12, but I'm on the fairly good side, I don't compare myself to people on the internet because it's mostly fake) I use the internet to learn and to see what's going on with the world.
I know me tweeting about how the world is a dark place won't make it suddenly light up, but at least my followers will see what I think and it will make them try to fix the rough problems of the world. I try my best to use the internet as an outlet for my feelings, or something that makes ME feel happy and laugh.
But I do absolutely agree with you about young (or old)people with anxiety being impressionable to "perfect" people and feeling like they aren't good enough. Like people who for example watch Jake and Logan Paul, they are impressionable and will think it's ok to do the things they do.
The hair looks great! I could listen to you speak about everything.
For anyone who has stepped away from their phone for similar reasons as her, I don’t care that I don’t know you personally, or at all really, but I am extremely proud of you! Not only for that, but also for stepping back and recognizing what it was doing to you... somewhat like self accountability in a way if that makes sense.
I’m glad you did what you felt was best for you, regardless of the fact that social media is so integrated into our lives now. I haven’t deleted any of my stuff, I just rarely go on Facebook and that’s it..
What tipped me over the edge was getting an INSANE amount of followers on Instagram, actually getting paid really good money to take pics of free stuff sent to me, etc; but also trying to keep up with all of it and all the letters being sent to me( I still feel horrible I have stacks and stacks of letters I stilll haven’t written back to). I just couldn’t handle it and I just shut off all notifications off of every app.
Like I said, I look at Facebook here and there and that’s it now! I’m happy that I’ve been back using this account to just watch my fav youtubers for the past couple years :)
If anyone actually gave a fuck enough to read this, I love you lol. I literally NEVER comment, so thanks for taking the time
I didn't have Internet growing up, I got my first laptop when I was 16 and only last year i bought my smart phone. When I was little we had a shared phone with my siblings so that our parents could reach us at home. Before buying a smart phone, I would sometimes forget to even take my mobile with me. Now it feels that I have to have it with me if someone wants to be in touch. Perhaps if I'm just running errands or going to a local grocery store, I could just leave it home.
I get easily irritated by hate comments/stupid people on social media. When I'm reading a controversial article I have to force myself not to read the comments.
I have found that platforms like deviantart, instagram and youtube are great places for finding inspiration and sharing your own work. Though on instagram I have way too many interesting posts saved.
Btw I love your new hair. Also just realized it was Monday 'cause of your upload. I love your opinions and your videos make my day.
Hannah Witton spend a week without her phone. It was inspiring and I think everyone should try it. Last summer I spent a month without Internet and social media etc, because my laptop broke.
Your words and all of the comments have really made me think about my social media habits. I‘ve given it some thought before and I knew that I was definitely addicted (which I‘ve never been proud of), but as of right now i 100% feel the need to take more time off of social media. It‘s insane how much time we spend on all of those apps.
The hardest thing for me is seeing all these tiny ladies posting pics of their huge desserts and junk food every day. I have really been struggling to lose weight but I just don't have that kind of metabolism so I get upset by it, even though I don't they honestly eat all of it
I actually love this video because I agree 100% with everything you’re saying. I used to be obsessed with social media.... I recently deactivated my Facebook. I want to use my phone less and less, but I have a long way to go. I definitely have compared myself to others, but my issue is I want to be more in the moment!! I’m tired of having to photograph everything I do... and I want to be more private. I would rather be outdoors, reading, etc.
I miss the “olden” days too! I was born in ‘92, and I remember the days without a cell phone & social media! Those are memories I’ll cherish forever, I’m glad I grew up in the 90’s.
Your hair looks so pretty! I love the color. Also, I really admire seeing you not wearing makeup in your videos, it’s so cool to see a girl being confident and embracing her natural beauty. ❤️
I love you for talking about this 💜💜💜💜 whenever I’m at work I always put my phone away and try and socialize with coworkers but everyone else is always obsessed with their phones
I completely agree with you on this topic! i recently went about 4 months without social media and it honestly felt so freeing and i felt less distracted. i decoted more time to doing things i liked and found myself generally in a better mood. because of this, i totally agree that although social media has good parts, its more or less toxic and harmful.
This hair is AMAZING, and you are glowing girl
A self-care video would be fantastic. Also I know that 100 people have already said it, but seriously, your hair is gorgeous!
It certainly can contribute to mental illnesses. Another thing is that is promotes impatience, the sense that everything is immediate and urgent; can create issues with impulse control or negate delay in gratification. We focus on now, now, now and that can cause stress and anxieties: why didn’t they text me back? Why haven’t I heard from so and so? etc
as someone who's emotionally dependant, I totally feel left out because of the 'seen' and friends stories etc. It surely doesn't help !
Instagram has really put thought into the urgent with their 'buy what they're wearing' feature
I’ve been watching you for I’m not quite sure how long but it’s in the multiple years, I remember you making your horror channel. I just looked at your subscriber count and it surprised me! You definitely deserve so much more in my opinion. When you mentioned getting rid of social media or ignoring your phone could be self care it struck me since I’ve deactivated my Facebook account several times because I was in a mood/just felt negative side effects from having/looking at it and I always felt I was being dramatic but it’s nice to hear someone say I was justified in my actions.
omg you look stunningggg
(lengthy comment I'm sorry lol) First off, I'm living for your hair! And second, yes!!! I am so glad to hear someone talk about this! I actually did a persuasive speech in my public speaking class on why social media negatively affects our mental health. I did a little experiment and asked about 10 of my friends (all girls) whether or not social media had a negative influence on them and they all said yes. Despite this...people stared at me like I had 5 heads during the speech and maybe one or two people nodded in agreement. And despite all of my friends saying yes, some of them are avid users and, honestly, addicts to social media. I feel like this issue sums up all of the younger people of our time (15-30 year olds). We care about mental health but we're also still thriving off of the things that have affected our mental health. The power of the people who are so recognizable (like celebs) and current technology is too much for any of us to just put the phones down and step away... to see things from other perspectives. It will never be possible to go back, and we will never stay the same, but how do we go forward without causing further damage???? Sometimes this shit keeps me up at night because the good is SO good but the bad is SO bad! How do we change that!? Honestly someone reply with ideas if possible hahaha
Hey girl! I am 25 years old and I came to the same realization just lately! I can so relate to this topic ! I started to spend more time off my phone, cos same I did realize How I have phone addiction! Same goes to spending more quality time and I did learn how to take care of myself through small details. I can relate to each word of yours and how awesome there is people like u who I can relate!
P.s instagram does make me feel anxious especially in the mornings!
Every time I came back to this channel cos its honest! Thank u^^
Today was the last day of a one month social media cleanse for me. I did it with the intent to hinder a lot of the comparing I was doing to other people. I have dealt with depression and anxiety for a while now and I feel like it really helped to unplug. Today I logged onto instagram (and saw your post about this video!) and I feel like I now have a new perspective of how to use it in a positive manor for myself. I think that social media can both cause and worsen mental illness, but if you learn to look at it objectively you are less likely to react negatively to it! I also found that I am no longer mindlessly scrolling through my social medias throughout the day. :) love your videos!
facebook newsfeed eradicator has helped me change the way i use fb - instead of your newsfeed for no reason it just shows an inspirational quote
Love this and I agree! Its addictive. Everytime you get a message you get a dopamine-rush in your brain. I want to live more offline. Its stressing that everyone can reach you all the time and so on...
I am the same. When my depression got severe I had to delete my social media apps because I feel myself getting into that dark place. I ended up redownloading them once I got better. I agree that I am addicted but at the same time I have this feeling that I don't want to be on my phone. I want to just turn it off and I never want to take it with me. But there is little voice in the back of my head saying that if I don't have my phone with me I won't be able to call someone during an emergency or I'll miss something aka what you said about fomo.
Now and days I am trying to not be on my phone and be more aware of the outside world. What I do is keep my phone with me because it really is my only form of communication (I don't have a house phone). And the times I'm constantly on my phone/ social media and I stop myself and put it away and grab a book. Love your channel
I feel the same way about my phone..it makes me so mad sometimes that I feel like I can’t be away from it. But I’m reading more and moving back home from overseas in two weeks so rn i dont care about my phone and being on it but it’s deff changing when my life is back to normal. Loved this video 💛
Im currently on this social media detox challenge and its super refreshing!
Yesss this video was amazing and well versed!! I deleted my instagram maybe a year ago. I only use snapchat now to keep in touch w my close friends who i personally know. Having instagram wasnt fulfilling which is why I deleted it. I had followers I didnt know and was liking pictures I didnt truly like if that makes sense lol. It was taking up so much of my free time and I didnt like feeling obligated to post or like things. I also started caring about my own likes and it hurt my self esteem. I now enjoy being less connected to my phone and less social media means less time wasted on my phone and more time for self care.
Also note to self: buy a puzzle asap. 2nd thing I saw today about puzzles. The universe wants me to get into puzzles and im here for it!
Great video and topic Sarah and ironically qcknd inspired me to finally ditch my instagram when I did. Funny how things come full circle. Keep up the great work! Your hair looks adorable btw
I know I'm a little late getting to this, but the discussion of upward comparison on social media really resonated with me. I remember a few months ago I was discussing with my therapist how I always felt pathetic looking at my friends' profiles because a lot of their pictures seem to be with other people and most of mine are just me alone and I feel depressed about it. Not exactly what you were talking about maybe, but it ties in.
Social media is generally bad, for me at least. Every time I'm on Instagram or Facebook I start comparing myself to other people and it triggers my depression. I try to stay away from it but it just sucks me back in everytime because I still want to stay connected to other people and a lot of of the time it seems like that's the only way to do that.
Very good video. I also notice that going on twitter a lot makes me feel bad and sad. But for me it’s not so much the happy tweets that make me feel bad but when people constantly tweet how lonely and sad they are I start to think „well I‘m also kinda lonely“ and then it’ll just snowball and I‘ll feel terrible. So it’s definitely a good idea to try and be less connected
I also get that and I'm sorry because I'm the kind of people who need to write down their feelings so it can be out there and not holding on to me. Also, most political news makes me feel bad lately so I've been avoiding twitter kinda
I completely agree with you ❤and your hair looks amazing
I totally agree with you! I think this video really made realise I need a break too, and stop the mindless scrolling. Thank you for another insightful video xx
Yeeessss a self care video would be great, especially from you Sarah!
I also think social media can be good and bad like you said, but it also depends on how you use it and see it. I also only got my first computer when I was 18 and the phone I had at that time was a Nokia that just let me text, call and play snake. I feel like social media never was a big thing to me until I started sharing my art online. It was great to be able to reach so many people. As an artist it's super important to have critics to grow. But then if we let ourselves get affected by the number, it can be destructive. We all just want more, but in real life I would never be able to reach half as many people as I do now. It's already so good and I'm so grateful for the people that comments my art. So this is how I try to see social media: just being able to reach my best friend that lives 3 567,0 km away from me and be able to have a live conversation, without wasting money, it's already a miracle xD
Going on social media genuinely makes me depressed, and it triggers my anxiety when I see other people's posts about how much better their lives are compared to mine. Deleted everything at the start of the year, and my mental health has never been better!
Definitely get you. When I was in College I would have a lot of free time and when I woke up I would immediately go through instagram and boy, did that trigger my anxiety. Even now, the days when I have more free time to 'relax' and more time to scroll, I usually am more anxious than the days when I'm completely busy and won't stop. I also find it quite difficult to remain focused on one task only, which is also unnerving.
Fortunately as I am growing older I also give more value to the 'be bored' time as it is great for spontaneous walks, creativity and new activities. I don't binge watch Netflix anymore, I try to restrict my social media habits, and also am learning to draw and started reading so much more.
In addition, I've also noticed that I started to crave traveling, but not only as a form of seeing the world and having fun and learning, but I felt that if I didn't than I wasn't good enough and wasn't living enough. Man, it's one of the things I love the most and I was doing it for all the wrong reasons.
On January 2017, I decided to not use Intagram for a whole year because it was messing so much with my mental health it was ridiculous. So I commited and didn't use it for a whole year, I didn't even looked at my friend's posts, and I can't stress enough how good this was for me. Since then, I have returned to use it regularly and I still enjoy it, but I just find myself much more smart about it and I don't let it consume me anymore (and if I feel like it's beginning to bring me down again, I just log out for a few hour or days until it doesn't bother me). I think that, as much fun as social media is, we all need a detox from time to time.
A self-care video would be great!! This video was a good reminder to step away sometimes.. I know that social media is mainly bad for me personally and I need to spend more time away from it - especially the comment section haha. Good food for thought. I also just looked up puzzles cause that sounds super fun:)
I'm with you on the social media thing. I was born in 1980 so didn't have a mobile until I was 17 and didn't have the internet in my home until my 20s. I feel so attached to my phone and feel compelled to check my social media regularly. I've put an application on my phone that allows me an hour on each app daily to try and stop me constantly scrolling. I've started paying attention to my shows more, tho my partner refuses and is always scrolling. I've cleared out who I follow on Instagram and only follow people that motivate me and make me happy. As soon as I have a bad thought about an account, like comparing myself, I just unfollow. I am reading more and also got back into painting and drawing to occupy my spare time. I do miss out on some things, like gigs and events but I'm fine with it right now.
The travel and posing thing is just all over now. Staged and heavily edited photos are some of the things I don't like to follow. I follow a lot of van life accounts, but they're all the real ones that show the not so glam side of things.
I'm nearing 40 so it's super important to me to have a positive image of myself, and sometimes social media isn't the best thing for that. But again that's why I try and follow body positive real people. It's hard sometimes!
The routine videos are always welcomed
I’ve been off social media for a week as of today. I’ve finally made the step to join a gym and I’ve been feeling crazy better
Same! I feel so mad sometimes, and it's because I feel constrained to absorb so much media before everything else. I hate it! I've taken some lengths to delete apps and some channels I follow. I've been feeling a lot better about myself.
I think I needed this video. I've been having low self-esteem and social media definetly makes me feel worse. Sometimes I want to quit every social media but I just can't.. I wish could.
consider this: social media pressures us to be like everyone else. mostly to be perfect, but deep down to be like everybody else.
Because it is sooo ingrained in how we live now, there needs to, first of all, basic mental health classes in schools, and some of those classes should be dedicated to dealing with how social media manipulates us. In every generation there are things older people don’t like because they aren’t ‘in it’, but most of those things are a new way of life and won’t go away so we need to figure out a way to have social media without damaging some of the younger or more isolated users.
Definitely do a video on a self-care routine!
This was such a wake up call for me, thank you Sarah!!
This video was really interesting!
Not gonna lie, I love social media, and I personally feel like I gain more inspiration from it than depression, but I AM a bit too addicted. It does help that I still use a prepaid phone (still a smart phone though), and therefore never go online on places where I don't have access to wifi, or where I need to ask about getting a password. What you said about only checking your phone when there's something spesific you need to check, sound like a good habit. Definitly gonna try that!
Facebook wanted my real surname with documents to prove it. I said hell no, I'm not uploading any documents to facebook, thank you very much. Since then I have been blocked by fb. Best thing ever! :D it was just such a waste of time!
It's hard for me to get rid of Facebook as there is groups for university stuff and events that I wouldn't know about otherwise, also I've got more people on Messenger than in my actual phone contacts (idk if that's just me?)
Social media definitely made my depression and anxiety a lot worse! thinking that you're worthless and your life sucks and seeing people who seem to live the perfect life when they're barely 20 made me feel like shit! i'm working on it and i've stopped going on instagram and watching those "going to the other side of the world on a private jet" kinda vlogs!
Honestly, it disgusts me that I'm so addicted to my phone. I find myself watching UA-cam on my TV while simultaneously scrolling through Instagram. I can't even focus on one thing anymore. I'm not going to categorize it as "multitasking" either. It's like I try to watch everything to make sure I'm not missing out, yet none of it is really fulfilling anyway. I'm glad you made this video because I'm going to make an effort to distance myself from my phone.
All the stories definitely makes me have this fear of missing out and sometimes I unfollow people who make me feel bad but, in the discover section, I'll find others to replace them and it goes on and on (feeling ugly and not stylish/aesthetic enough, especially on Instagram)
“Pose in a way that makes me feel like I’m breaking my back”😂😂 true
Great video ! Your channel has been helping me a lot . It's quiet good when you can share different perspective of seeing the world and especially when u suffer from mental illness like anxiety and you see you're not the only one. Thanks xD
I love “same dark places” by JR JR, such a good song!
I grew up obsessed with the internet and all the new social media that was coming out but I didn't realize how "addicted" I had become until recently. I would waste so much time mindlessly clicking back and forth through twitter, facebook, instagram, youtube and somehow still wonder why I had such a hard time getting things done. I ended up deleting a few apps on my phone, logging out of all of my social media on my laptop, unsubscribing from a ton of youtube channels + replacing them with educational channels and putting my phone on do not disturb all day. It has helped me tremendously. I do my best to replace what would be my mindless clicking time with reading and now I read so much quicker than I've ever been able to. I feel so much better about how I spend my days now.
I definitely do think that social media can contribute to the development of mental illness or can worsen mental illness. I think it all depends on how you use it
Your hair looks SO good 😍
I feel like the only teen (I'm 15) who isn't addicted to their phone or at least in my circle. On weekend where I don't need to have my phone on me I often forget I even have one and go without posting with no shame. Now I do have a lot of social media but I believe I don't really and have never really followed people who seem 'perfect' in the life sense. I tend to like accounts where they're honest about their mental state. I'm on instagram and the problems you talk about and being convinced of certain things have never been a problem to me. I've learned a lot about politics, self care, mental health, culture, info about the lgbtq+ community so on which has really really helped me in my own journey. I must say when I was dealing with my worst mentally i still never looked at those 'perfect' people but I did connect to a network that both validated my feeling because they shared them, and brought me down because we all felt hopeless. Disconnecting from that following positivity accounts really helped me seek help. Usually my phone is on silent and I've taught myself not to feel anxious about not responding immediately. A lot of my classmates freak out if they don't get a response within 10 minutes and I can take hours. We talked about this phone addiction thing in school in my group of about 7 people I was the only one who passed the test on not being an addiction, that's kinda sad to me. I was never taught to do things this way, and I actually really enjoy my phone, and what I can do with it but in the end I'm know can put it down not feel like I'm missing out or something. We did have a landlines for a small bit know my life, I watched kids movies on tapes and such but only very briefly. I've had Facebook before I was ten and yet I don't think I've ever let it keep me from doing other things. I'll read, I'll draw and I won't be thinking about my phone. Now a jigsaw puzzle would be fun but I did a 3D one not that long ago ;)
This really gave me a lot to think about! I think it would be a good idea for me to try cutting down and enjoying the present more.
Hair looks amazing!
I like these topic discussions, social media is such a grey area
I've always loved oral histories, and other people's opinions. The social media gives that.
I feel the smell about not having a phone during my childhood, I got a basic phone when I was 15 (we’re the same age btw) I grew up drawing ALL THE TIME, and while school and other priorities got it the way of that precious hobby, social media and consuming more content drove me further away from enjoying certain hobbies I once had, it’s so hard to make time for those things when we’re so distracted by our phones
Social media used to be more fun than it is now and I think this is partly because it has become a tool for consumerism (lifestyle as well as material possessions). In the past it was more about communication and genuine connections.
It is so crazy how addicted we all our to our phones. I’ve not someone who posts on social media all the time but I do have them and check them constantly. It definitely doesn’t do me any good so I’ve recently turned off notifications on all social media apps. Thinking about deleting some next.
Also I have anxiety and depression so I notice it just increases my negative thoughts and feeling. Social media, especially Instagram, makes me buy things spontaneously. I’m usually a very rational and frugal spender but the more I’m on instagram the more I want to buy new clothes or makeup.
How is your friend doing Sarah? Did she have the little baby I hope everything went well and that they are both happy healthy and safe, I’m thinking of you all and I’m sending all my love and support to all of you! ❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 I do believe that social media causes so much stress, anxiety and yes even mental illness we have the whole world at our fingertips and that can be very overwhelming, thank you so much for making this very relevant video you have helped so much by starting a discussion, as that is the only way humanity and Society can move forward towards a better future for everyone and everything, thank you so much Sarah xxxxxxxxx
As someone whos been struggling with a variety of issues, I made the conscious decision to delete my facebook about a week ago and it has been such a breath of fresh air. I am clearly in a very different place than those who I follow and who follow me as well as those on my specific facebook are very unsupportive, even negative at times, of me, my interests and hobbies. I also have and readily use an Instagram and Twitter, but have been able to create 'social media' time at the end of every day for an hour or so and have seen myself grow re-interested in many things I use to love back in high school and early in college before I joined social media. For me and my mental and emotional health journey logging off has been wonderful!!
I did my research project for grad school (counseling) on the relationship of depression and social media.
Also your hair is very Jessica rabbit.
I haven't watched the whole video yet, wanted to say though, since I was about 16, I realised that my use of social media affected my mental health severely.
I stopped using social media and haven't used it in about three years.
And now I can see exactly how it negatively effected me.
...I based my self worth on what others thought of me...seeing people's posts of them having a nice life, having a car, going on holiday ect made me literally curl up in a ball and cry because my life felt shitty in comparison. Removing things that didn't get the response I wanted, posting things becaus I knew other people would like them and not because I liked them. Editing my body to unholy proportions just to feel like I sort of matched up with people who I thought were prettier than me.
Even when I was going through those things, I'd still tell myself that I didn't care what people thought of me.
But looking back now, I know it seemed like the most important thing in life to post a status everyday, or a tweet or a blog. To stay relevant, being on the other side of all of that and seeing who I was and what social media did to me, I couldn't be more thankful that I quit.
Because even though I still have issues with valuing myself properly and believing what I want regardless of what other people think. I know I am so much happier and truly not a single piece of myself worth is based on what strangers think of me on the internet.
Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that this is the case with every person who used social media, because I think learning more about the world and just growing up in general helps you realise you are more than what people put on your profile.
But I was so young I wasn't able to see all these things I needed to see.
Tldr; I think it can massively effect young peoples mental health to consistently use social media. From personal experience.
I'm the complete opposite when it comes to my phone LOL. I'm always losing it and I never charge it (which pisses everyone off when they're trying to reach me). Running an online business makes it hard for me to distance myself from the "screen" (that being the computer screen) and I'm constantly online whether for a conference call, to check orders, answer emails, doing taxes, managing the social media accounts and blogs associated with my online store. But I'm hardly ever actually doing any of this on my phone (which is why I hardly update IG).
My FB feed is just photos of my friends babies (they cute but I don't care lol) and fake news shared by my mom and other old people in my family lol. So I'm never on there either. I pretty much stick with Tumblr and Etsy and promoting on IG when ever I can find my phone LMAO.
Great video. I do think people have a tendency to compare themselves with others way more when they're spending hours on FB and IG. My boyfriend and I were just talking about how we wish Instagram culture would die out and we can go back to everyone not giving a shit if their eyebrows are slaying. I'm also sick of the overpriced garbage that most IG models are pushing lol.
Either way.. I haven't updated my personal IG since (I think) Valentines Day LOL. Ain't nobody got time for dat lol.
I've been feeling drained by social media lately. I deleted my Facebook and Twitter apps a few weeks ago. I still have Instagram, Snapchat, and Tumblr. I don't really have a big problem with comparing myself to others but I found having to see others different political opinions on everything all the time would just piss me off. It's nice to disconnect from that and not having those apps also forces me to find something to do since I can't browse them mindlessly anymore.
I've taken to cleaning out my social media the way I clean out my closet. I go through the people I follow (and the people that follow me) and I get rid of the ones I don't talk to, don't remember following, etc. For me social media should feel like a community space, not a space that gives me anxiety or is hurtful. however i think I'm privileged to be able to do this because I don't need social media for marketing purposes. I probably have like less than 100 Facebook friends, and about 150 instagram followers and I LIKE IT that way. I'm not sure when we all decided we needed to be instagram famous, but I really hope more people use social media for themselves. Its really nice to not cater to others all the time and I would encourage those of you who don't need social media for income to do so.
I wholeheartedly agree. I am not sure that I could say that I had an addiction to social media, I will say that I incorrectly used it as a coping mechanism in a stressful time. And while there are many supportive people that would be there for me on social media, I realize now that engaging with them in that way, and at the same time being exposed to the content and atmosphere that my social media contacts spoke about and shared, all of those things together really weren't good to me. It actually increased my anxiety and it enabled me to avoid time I really needed to clear my head.
So at the end of 2016 (I wonder why that year is significant? Hmm. Mystery) I didn't delete my Facebook, I didn't dramatically quit Facebook I just stopped using it. This was the best decision that I could have made. And guess what? No one noticed that I wasn't there mainly because Facebook just became a place to constantly focus on stressful things and to vent; there was always something immediate to preoccupy people. And it really isn't healthy to be in a place that is all about sharing stressful news and woes whether you have your own stress and woes or not.
So now, I check my messages once a week maybe. I give my phone number to people if they need to contact me directly. I make sure I am calm when I read the news and take time to read it from trusted sources that won't sensationalize (places that are boring AF), and reach out to people that I have meaningful interactions with. People that I can equally share good and exciting things with as well as things that are bothering me, and vice versa for them.
So often people value quantity over quality with socializing online, when the good parts about it shine when you keep in mind quality and you don't settle for a bunch of low quality interactions that contain more baggage than good.
I Totally agree. I try to do stuff without my phone too on a daily bases, leaving it in another room in the meanwhile for example. The puzzle game with music & wine sounds cute to do with my boyfriend, thanks for the idea! I'm anyways keeping just youtube or social media that makes me laugh like 9gag or stuff where there's just memes, so i'm actually having a good laugh instead of worrying about someone else
I really like what you said, i want to just, keep listening to it over and over to keep the right perspective in mind. I don't see a huge affect on depression in my life due to social media, but I DO find myself feeling foggy, unfocused, and just unfulfilled after I've wasted some time on my phone. Additionally, I do get tired of feeling like I have to respond to people. It's like a mosquito buzzing in my ear. I get to the point where I want people to leave me alone. I also keep asking the question, what would be outlet be today if i didn't have social media? How would I be expressing my thoughts and feelings? Would I still be doing _____ if social media didn't exist? I believe I'm like a year older than you so I too feel lucky to have been able to grow up without the constant poking of smart phones and the internet. I still find myself believing that it could all disappear in an instant, like that this is temporary so we shouldn't get used to it. If it all just went poof and was gone, then what would we have left? I think we all need to find a balance and maybe one day a more balanced lifestyle will be the norm, who knows!
Love the haircut and color!!!
I’m so upset I didn’t get a notify now I’m hella late to the party 🙄😩
This video is so on point wow 🙏🏻 I always knew I had some kind of depression due to sm but this put it in perspective 👌🏻 thank you so much this helps so much
Hi Sarah! Im almost 30 yrs old, and like you, most of my live I lived without a cellphone. I think my aunt got me one for my 18th birthday and was just for texting. I'm so sad that today's generation cannot be without a phone anymore. For example, yesterday I go out for dinner with my hun and started looking around. Everyone, and I meant EVERY SINGLE PERSON was with a phone, non talking to each other.. I used to be kinda adicted to my cellphone a year ago and tried so hard to upload nice pictures on instagram and do this and that and then I thought WHY?? I just wanted to impress a person I didn't even knew. Sometimes looking at pictures of perfect build bodies made me feel bad about myself and so self concious of thing I didnt have. So I created a goalf for myself, just like you. Read at least 30 min a day, go out and play with my two huge dogs, angry my cat, decorate the house and put most of my energy in what I really like, that's art. I love drawing and that's other thing that social media is good and bad for. Good for global aknowledgment of your work, but sometimes it made me feel so less when I started comparing my art with others so that's when I put a stop about spending hours scrolling through pinterest or insta, and put my energy on the paper and the pencil. Ok that's a lot hehe Lots of love, from a follower from Argentina.
love the hair! looks so full now x
Loved this Video!
I‘m such a phone addict! And I don‘t like that, but it‘s really hard to overcome the constant need to pick it up.. i‘m not that much into social media more into whatsapp, youtube and I need to answer instantly if someone texted 🙈 thats so annoying...
Hey Sarah! Love your videos, very insightful. Greetings from Romania!
A few months ago, I removed my acne for a selfie that was supposed to be perfect for Instagram and the instant regret after posting was HARD! I don't even know if I should delete that or not tbh. But now, I'm planning on actually taking more selfies but with no airbrushing at all. I deleted the app. Even if I have 300 something followers, I want to show people that you can be beautiful and have acne too. I really with I could be more influential and help fighting the stigma around acne. It doesn't make you ugly, it's not "dirty", it's not "gross", it's just mostly a hormonal thing. I treat my skin like a little princess, and it still happens. And I wish more people would understand that.
I’m glad that I personally do not feel the urge to check my phone even though I have a nice, updated iPhone and social media on it. In all honesty, social media is too much work for me, so I simply couldn’t be bothered; I am also not that interested which is a blessing. The only apps I constantly check are UA-cam and gmail these days. I also have my phone on do not disturb 24/7; it makes my parents mad bc I don’t respond to their texts right away. It does feel good to not be glued to my phone though; the whole complete interest in the program I’m watching on Netflix is the best, I get super invested and it’s great.
I often feel sad and miserable when I go on social media and see some people doing this and looking better etc. And it makes me feel like I'm left out and not doing anything exciting. It's more of a stronger feeling right now, because I'm just stuck in this weird time of not knowing what to do and what to study, I've been so upset about it this past year, and social media is the place that makes me feel more awful. I think that social media has grown to be place of showing of your best parts of life(or make it seem like it) and some people even earn money out of creating this "oh I'm so perfect" etc., and it makes other's feel more miserable than they really are. I remember when the social media wasn't as much of a show off than it is now. I'm not judging anyone, it's my opinion. But just the thing that makes me upset is that people are tending to be someone else and not being real to themselves and showing other's what life is really like.
P.S. Sarah, I really love your videos and the topics you bring up, because it brings awareness to certain things that some people don't talk about! 😊
I totally agree. I think that social media can contribute to mental illness. I think it can also cause mental illness especially in case of eating disorders.
But I think it can also help a lot of people.
Even before social media there were unhealthy body images and magazines full of people that had a 'better' life than you.
Great video thanks:)
I had to left Facebook for 3 days because of a kind of "fight" in a group with my classmates, personally I believe that if we discussed the topic in person there wouldn't be misunderstanding. In social media every one change their ways to be and of course that affect our mental health