It’s 4 P.M. on a Monday. You just finished school or got off work and you’re tired from the long day. All you want to do is collapse onto your bed before heading to the next thing. Your eyes are heavy, your body is craving rest, and your hand unconsciously reaches for your phone. On instinct, you open social media. With the swipe of a button, you have entered into a mind-numbing state of doom scrolling. One video leads to the next. Thinking you’ll stop after each one, but you never do. Wasting away hours and wasting away energy, you are caught in a constant trap.
We’ve all heard the countless debates over the pros and cons of social media, each with its reasoning. But at the core of all these apps such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat, is the advanced algorithm designed to feed our short attention spans and keep us hooked. Many of us can agree that social media takes way too much of our time than we would like. Then why do we let it?
Research has shown that teenagers and adolescents spend an average of 4.8 hours per day on all platforms (statista.com). Teenage girls alone spend around 5.3 hours per day. All of this time added up can take around 32% of our waking hours in a day. A survey around Timberline asked students about their average usage of social media and its effects on mental health.
A survey polled around Timberline showed how many kids feel more tired after spending time on social media.
Survey polled around Timberline showed how many kids feel social media hurts their mental health.
As you can see, students spend a lot of time on social media, even when they see the negative consequences. But the core question is, why do we do the things we don’t want to do?
We are more susceptible to scrolling and spending a lot of time on our phones when we feel tired or depleted. We are attempting to fill ourselves up, however, we are just picking the wrong things. When these feelings come on, most of the time we choose a numbing activity instead of a filling activity. Counselor Debra Fileta talks about how we most often choose the quickest and easiest fix; scrolling. However, there are many alternatives that we can turn to that will fill us up, but without the negative effects that scrolling and social media have on us.
Figuring out what fills our bucket and what drains our bucket is the core of this problem. Making it as simple as writing out a list of the things that fill you up and things that drain you will be beneficial. For example, reading and walking fill my bucket and make me more energized after a long day. And I know that doom scrolling and spending time on my phone drains me even more than before. With all this in mind, you can be led to more happy and energized days when you realize the effect that scrolling has on you. Be mindful about the risks of social media and remember to fill your bucket, no matter how empty it is.
