Our thoughts create our reality — where we put our focus is the direction we tend to go.
Peter McWilliams
Last week I dedicated my post, a video you can find here, to a topic many might view as being taboo: mental health. Having received quite a few positive reactions, and reflecting on the discussions I engaged in upon releasing my video, I decided to dive deeper into the topic I am very passionate about.
After reading a fantastic article written by Christie Wilcox To Blog or Not to Blog (yes yes I know it is part of the curriculum) I was really inspired to seek knowledge and ask those, who she describes as scientists, “get it” and share their findings. My hope with this podcast is to first: not bore you, secondly shed light on a topic whose high occurrence and gravity many might underpin, and thirdly to help you reflect and maybe even change your usage of social media platforms.
I want to thank Maria for participating in the discussion and my friend Woiwoi for putting up with my endless questions regarding the technology which I had to use in order to create the podcast.
Enjoy!
Articles Maria mentioned:
- The link between loneliness and social media here
- Fatigue and social media here
- Neural and Behavioral responses to Social Media here
Want to know more?
Watch my video Self Care Scrolling here.
Dive into a very insightful article by my colleague Therese describing The Google Effect here.
Read a great description of what could be seen as a ‘love-hate relationship’, our relationship to digital media written by my colleague Akif here.
Great podcast! I love that you’re having such an open conversation about mental health. I study psychology as well, and I often forget that many outside of that bubble do consider it a taboo topic. You’re really good at asking questions and this is super informative. Its important to be aware of how social media can impact mental health. In relation to your video on “self care scrolling”, I also remembered that a friend of mine once told me that “you see what you decide to follow”. So technically, people can choose to follow accounts that inspire them rather than those that make them doubt themselves. Easier said than done, of course.. especially if you divert from your own feed you’ll be exposed to the more toxic accounts again. But still, by following accounts that give you inspiration and maybe a drive to engage in certain issues you’re passionate about, scrolling can also become self care. I think a great feature on phones these days is the timer for certain apps, like my Instagram is currently set on 15 minutes per day, which gives me enough time to catch up with friends and share a wholesome meme or two, but not enough to lose myself in the scrolling.