On the one hand, it is easy to argue that the news media and social media are both forces for good in our everyday lives.
The news media, after all, keeps us informed about what is happening in our community, state, country, and beyond. And social media allows us to keep in touch with friends near and far while sharing snippets of our lives and voicing our opinions on various issues.
Staying informed and connected seems like positive things, right?
But on the other hand, it is easy to argue that the news media and social media are both forces for bad in our everyday lives.
The news media, after all, is often reporting on tragedies and challenges that can be hard to process whether they occur in our local community or elsewhere. And social media can lead us down an unhealthy path of comparing ourselves unfavorably to others or engaging in unhelpful (and often unkind) arguments with friends and strangers alike.
Allowing bad news and fruitless comparisons and arguments to overwhelm us seem like negative things, right?
Given this collision of positive and negative possibilities, it seems as though we might all be best served by engaging with news media and social media in moderation. Let’s take a look at what that might mean.
Make Some Changes
Think about your current news consumption and use of social media. Maybe you have already struck a healthy balance that allows you to stay informed and connected without becoming overwhelmed. If so, that is great!
But many people—perhaps including you yourself—struggle to moderate their media intake. The constant onslaught of news and the ever-updating social media feeds can, at times, feel like we are being hit in the face with the output of a firehose.
If you are in that second group, it is time to make a few changes—and the first one involves making choices.
Make Some Choices
Sometimes, that feeling of being overwhelmed by the news and by social media content arises because we are, in fact, being overwhelmed!
One strategy for addressing that is to make some purposeful choices about what content we are going to engage with. You can stay informed and connected without drowning in content.
On the news side, you might choose three outlets—perhaps a local newspaper, a nightly national news broadcast, and podcast that features discussions of current events—and then weed other outlets from your media landscape. Making an intentional choice like this does not mean that you will never turn to multiple sources to get more information about something that is important to you. It just means that on a day-to-day basis, you will turn to your favorite trusted sources. Most of the time, you will find they give you the information you want and need.
On the social side, you might choose to limit yourself to one or two platforms rather than three or four or more. And you might choose to make some intentional choices about who you follow or engage with. Go through your friends and followers lists and consider deleting anyone who regularly makes you feel stressed or sad or inadequate. Your socials should build you up, not tear you down.
Next up: make some choices about your schedule.
Make Some Schedules
Odds are, you have a set schedule in several aspects of your life. You have regular working hours, for example. Maybe you get up and go to bed at the same time each day. You know what time your house of worship meets or your favorite grocery store opens or which day your favorite streaming show drops.
What if you approached the news and social media in the same way? Pick a specific time or times each day when you will engage with the news. Maybe first thing in the morning, over the lunch hour, and/or in the evening (but not too close to bedtime). Do the same with social media. See if you can limit your social media time to about 30 minutes a day, whether that is all at once or broken up throughout the day. When you are on social media, consider setting a time so you don’t get sucked in and start doomscrolling.
We would also recommend turning off all or most alerts on your phone or other device. Getting constantly pinged by news outlets and social media sites makes it hard to stick to a schedule—and likely contributes to feelings of anxiety and stress.
Here’s Some Important News: We Can Help You Improve Your Mental Health
At Peak View Behavioral Health in Colorado Springs, our goal is to help each person we serve improve their mental health and maintain those improvements over time. It is probably not news to you that a mental health disorder can be extremely difficult to navigate on your own. But here’s the good news: personalized treatment grounded in evidence, expertise, experience, and empathy can help—and that is exactly what we offer at Peak View.
