Cyber Bullying When researching this subject, I was shocked to see the number of people who had taken their lives due to cyber bullying and sextortion. Between March 2019 and March 2020 19% or one in five children between the age of 10 and 15 in England and Wales...
Social Media Anxiety
Male Influencers
The MeToo movement has been wonderful for women’s rights and furthering awareness of sexual harassment and abuse. I know very few women who haven’t experienced sexual harassment at some point in their life and there is now an ability for women to have a voice, be...
What’s Your Online Persona?
Who Do You Think You Are? How Do You Want To Come Across Online? We all know someone who exaggerates their life online – we see the ‘official’ glitzy positive image they put on social media. For example, posts of holiday snaps look amazing but, when we meet to hear...
Striking the Balance – Parenting Children on Social Media
Children and social media: It can be a thorny issue for many parents. There is a common conflict. On the one hand, if you let your child engage in social media they can feel part of their friendship group and won’t feel left out or left behind, whilst on the other...
Phone Addiction – Are We Losing the Art of Being Able to be With Ourselves?
At a comedy show recently I sat in my seat during the interval and studied the art deco theatre. I was admiring the intricate ceiling and the décor and looked across from where I was sitting to see three people engrossed in their phones. They seemed oblivious to the...
Social Media Anxiety and How To Manage It
Social media can be a fantastic way of keeping in touch with people and a source of inspiration, support, and connection to wider conversations online. It can also link us to people we would otherwise not have access to, for example, brides and grooms who’ve invited...
Your First Therapy Session
This is the time of year when it’s common for people to think about starting therapy. You may have decided that you want to approach a therapist and may have contacted someone and made a date for an initial consultation. But then the reality of having the first...
Is Therapy For Me?
Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year can be difficult times for many people. We spend the holiday with family in a more intense way than normal and this can reveal strains, tensions and ruptures that we normally overlook or don’t like to admit in our daily lives....
2022 Another New Year Another New Normal
2022 looks set to be another unique year. Here in the UK, covidwise, we start the year arguably in a better place than 2021. As Omicron continues, it’s becoming the new normal to take a lateral flow test before meeting family and friends. But many of us are still...
How To Survive Christmas 2021
Christmas can be challenging for many people but this year especially it will be difficult for most of us one way or another. We may have to make do with phone and video calls to stay in touch with people who we would normally be with. We may be posting presents...
This is the first in a series I’m writing about social media. Over recent years, and especially since the pandemic social media has become more prevalent in our lives.
Benefits of Social Media
There are fantastic sides to social media like the ability to keep in touch with family and friends who live further away and aren’t easy to see face to face. There’s a guide available online to do anything you can possibly want or imagine, just search for a relevant video on YouTube. There are millions of online courses and trainings to improve oneself and one’s career and there is so much inspiration available like how to establish a morning routine for success, which paint effect to use on your latest preloved piece of furniture, and how to dance like Hugh Jackman and his wife.
Concerns about Social Media
But there is the shadow side of social media too. Many of us are simultaneously concerned about social media and the negative effect it can have on us.
As a parent, there is the challenging conundrum of wanting your child to be accepted by their peers and be able to arrange their own social life whilst also being concerned about the dangers of who they may be communicating with online. Who exactly are they playing Minecraft with?
As a singleton there is dating app overload and the constant conflict of wanting someone to date and maybe even finding a partner but knowing that there are many hurdles to pass in the ever-exhausting round of dating apps whilst navigating ghosting and phishing challenges to name a few.
And for all of us, there is a constant overload of information and the numerous distractions that social media brings.
Social Media Anxiety Syndrome
There isn’t currently an official diagnosis for Social Media Anxiety Syndrome or Social Media Disorder, but it wouldn’t surprise me if one appears in the next DSM (the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and the NICE guidelines (the lesser-known Uk NHS equivalent) sooner rather than later. The research being done in this area, however, will take time to be published.
Social Media Anxiety covers many aspects including revenge porn, incels, and cyberbullying. These issues are in the news most days but may not touch all of us. But an increase in isolation, anxiety, and depression, and feelings of inadequacy have probably affected all of us who use social media in one way or another at some point.
Is Social Media Affecting You?
If you would like to find out more about how social media may be affecting, you there are 9 questions to answer in a simple questionnaire here.
I’ll be exploring these topics and their effect on us over the coming months in future blog posts. I have also previously written a post on FOMO which you may find helpful.