Anxiety and Social Media
I have noticed in my clients a greater sense of anxiety, even for those clients who are not presenting with anxiety. There seems to be a high level of anxiety in the air at the moment and I think for we who work with people who suffer with a plethora of emotional and psychological issues need to look closely at cause and effect here.
There is no doubt whatever your particular views political or otherwise that there is a feeling of instability about. Whether that be Brexit or the election of Donald Trump, there is definitely a sense that things are changing and that for most people change causes anxiety whether the change is for the good or ill.
I have noticed that looking through my various social media feeds, that there is an anger being expressed by both sides of the political divide. This is an anger that I must admit that I have never seen before. The anger at times borders on hatred for the other side (whichever side that is). Young people use social media far more than those in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. It is illogical to believe that this level of emotion being expressed is not having a negative impact on the younger generation, in fact, all generations which use social media.
I have been suggesting to clients to not spend quite so much time on social media and to spend more time in actual live conversation with the people in their lives. These conversations tend to have far less of a negative emotional impact than reading the latest rants from their friends and even celebrities. It is important to remember that we are all human beings and that this is something that brings us together far more than the opinions and beliefs tear us apart. Just a thought.
