The COVID-19 pandemic has changed nearly every aspect of life. The way that people interact with social media and the influence that it exerts on everyday life is no different. Complicating the changes and effects of spending too much time on social media is the continuing rise of racial tensions and political unrest throughout the country.

Here is what you need to know about America's social media habits and how you can prevent your own browsing from negatively affecting your mental and emotional health.

How Social Media Habits Have Changed

This increasingly volatile time in American history has led to a host of changes in the way that people consume social media. During the early stages of the pandemic, it is no surprise that individuals turned to social media for information and to commiserate with others. Most people reported increased use of social media during the quarantine. However, as the quarantine dragged along for months, online tensions increased as users became more vocal about the opinions on whether the lockdowns were necessary.

Conversely, a highly contentious election season that is playing out online is now causing many people to turn away from their social media accounts. It is important to remember that social media is largely unregulated. While there has been some effort in recent months to censor untruthful information, there is still an exorbitant amount of misinformation that many people pass off as truth. This can be upsetting to many social media users, negatively affecting their view of this communication medium and causing them to turn away.

How Does Social Media Affect Your Health

There is no doubt that social media use can play a significant role in your mental health. You may be thinking that you are doing relatively well in this new normal shuttered at home until you hop online and see friends hanging out without you.

Or you may feel as if you are able to separate your political opinions from your feelings toward family members until you see something that they post that upsets you. It can become incredibly difficult to separate your personal feelings with what you perceive online.

Managing Social Media Stress

The good news is that you are not beholden to social media and how it may negatively affect your mental and emotional health. There are a number of things that you can do to manage your social media triggers so that they do not make staying in touch with your friends a detriment to your feelings.

• Monitor Screen Time - While it may be tempting to pick up your phone and see what is going on out in social media land, it is important to restrict your usage if you feel it is making you unhappy. Restricting yourself to only checking your accounts once per day will go a long way in helping to prevent this from becoming an unhealthy obsession.



• Find a Hobby - Many individuals become addicted to social media solely out of boredom. Thus, it makes sense that finding a new hobby that sparks your interest will naturally help you to minimize the amount of time that you spend on social media.



• Look for Alternate Ways to Connect - People turn to social media as a way to connect with others and feel part of a community. If the connection is what you crave, you would be wise to look for alternate ways to connect with others. Engaging directly with others will satisfy that need to connect with like-minded people in healthier ways.



• Volunteer - If you find that social media is dragging you down during this unprecedented time in history, you may find volunteering to be an extremely cathartic activity. Not only will this take your mind off the harmful influences of your social media accounts, but it will make you feel better about your place in the world in the process.

There is no one size fits all approach when it comes to social media consumption. While some people can handle a constant barrage of information without any ill effects on their health, other individuals have more challenges processing all of this activity. If you notice that you feel unnecessarily uneasy after spending time on social media, it is a good idea to unplug for a bit to see if that helps to mitigate the issue.