Many of us feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content, brands, and ways we can spend our time online. Of course, this tends to be especially challenging for younger users who are not used to so many different kinds of digital interactions.
The good news is that overthinking is a temporary condition that can be treated with targeted self-help strategies. The bad news? There’s no cure or specific remedy that works every single time. But there are some rules you can follow in order to break the overthinking cycle faster.
It goes without saying that social media has taken over our lives. We mindlessly scan through our feeds, devour material without pause, and even compare our own lives to the highlight reels we see on our screens. But what happens when our usage of social media begins to negatively impact our mental health?
According to a University of Pennsylvania research, the more time young adults spend on social media, the more likely they are to suffer anxiety and depression symptoms. In fact, the study discovered that people who spend more than two hours every day on social media are twice as likely to have these symptoms.
So, what about social media makes us overthink and second-guess ourselves?
For one thing, social media bombards us with visuals and information that might be difficult to digest. We are continually assaulted with pictures of idealized lives, idealized relationships, and unreachable beauty standards. It's no surprise that we begin to compare our own lives to what we see on our feeds and feel inadequate.
Another factor that adds to overthinking is that social media offers us a false sense of connectedness to people. We see people's carefully managed photographs and postings and begin to assume that we know them better than we actually do. We begin to compare our own lives to their highlight reels and feel inadequate.
Finally, social media can encourage negative thinking and comparison. We're more prone to focus on what we don't have than what we do while we're browsing through our feeds.
If you find yourself overthinking things on social media, don't worry. It's a new phenomena that will effect everyone at some time. The key is to remember that overthinking is simply a transitory state and that there are methods for breaking the loop. You may avoid overthinking by following a few easy principles and get back to enjoying your social media experience.