There’s been some research and discussion in the past few years that links internet and particularly social media in teens with depression, but is it just young people who are vulnerable?
I do think it’s important to realise how insidious certain practises can be without us realising. Little things that start as a now-and-then pastime can sometimes become more and more habitual and lead to unhealthy ways of thinking and being. These things may become more and more habitual and the effects creep up on us so slowly that it’s difficult to see the connection.
For example, I discovered recently that someone extremely well adjusted, a person you would absolutely describe as sound and stable, was a little upset having interpreted their friend’s recent FB post as a being personally directed at them. I was astounded when I heard this because knowing the other person, I knew it had nothing to do with anything apart from maybe how the “posting person” felt at that particular time about life and various other matters.
It totally cemented for me how easy it is for ANYONE to start creating silly stories in their head, over-thinking and brewing on throw-away in-the-moment musings that have no basis in anything!
For an adult whose mental wellbeing isn’t quite as sound or stable or for a child going through particular developmental stages, how could this constant scrolling and analysing NOT be fraught with danger?
Really, the best thing we all can do for the sake of our spiritual health is to limit mindless scrolling, to stop following people whose posts or belief systems get under our skin and to do our best to remain detached about the rest.
In other words, shake your head, shake it off and take it like a grain of salt.