In today's world, information is easily accessible and all-consuming. With constant access to social media, news sites, and even friends sharing updates, it can easily feel like there’s a flood of information coming at us at once—especially during major life changes or significant events if you know, you know! At a certain point, it can become overwhelming. The big question is: when is it too much? Where do we draw the line between being informed and over-consumption? For many, it is when a steady stream of updates stops feeling helpful and starts impacting our mental health.
It is important to recognize that our minds have limits. With each scroll, headline, notification, and discourse, we are taking in an array of emotional information that we often leave unprocessed. For some, these updates feel like staying informed, but for others, especially those on the receiving end of big changes, or particularly sensitive to these drastic shifts, it can lead to a heightened sense of anxiety or depression. Studies show that excessive media consumption during stressful times can worsen feelings of helplessness, amplify fear, and even impact our physical health by making it difficult to focus on other tasks.
DIY Hacks to Maintain Balance
If you are feeling especially overwhelmed by the constant updates, here are a few ways to maintain balance and gain control of your mind when navigating the media.
Set Clear Boundaries: The relationships we all have with the media vary significantly, and as such, it’s best to adopt a personalized approach when setting boundaries based on how the effects manifest in your life. Establish specific “rules” that you maintain, catering to your responses to certain situations in comparison to others. These rules can vary wildly from setting specific times to check the news to only refreshing your feed till you come across a triggering post. Giving yourself structure can ease the pull of mindless scrolling, and help to reduce the anxiety that the information circulation can bring.
Digital Detoxing: Reflecting on the point mentioned earlier, try to implement media-free days where you prioritize the natural world without the influence of digitalization. While technology offers numerous benefits to us, it also creates a dependency that we may not realize in our constant state of use, especially in terms of the information we have access to constantly through these devices. Unplugging can create significant change in our perception beyond popularized propaganda or negative stimuli, thus allowing us to stay grounded in activities we truly enjoy while recharging mentally and emotionally.
Curate your feed: Consider unfollowing, muting or even blocking accounts that leave you feeling unnaturally stressed or anxious. Instead, take charge of your digital environment by following pages that promote positivity and represent the views that keep you engaged and informed without the negative additives. This does not mean ignoring real life but filtering your feed to serve your mental well-being.
When life feels overwhelming, listening to our bodies and minds is crucial. A big part of managing media overload is accepting that you don’t have to constantly stay informed at the expense of your mental health. Learning to trust what you can take in at a time, rather than everything all at once can reduce mental strain and make a positive impact on your mental health in the long run. Take it one day at a time. Remember, balance is the key to well-being.
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