One thing you don’t know you’re doing wrong that puts your mental health at risk

Words by Dyan Santiago

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Nobody would ever think that socializing can ever be hazardous, until a platform that is primarily for socialization becomes a stage where people perform for fame and praises.

Social media initially helped in connecting people who are miles away from each other. However, as social media platforms introduced different features that let people express themselves, it has become more than just a communication channel—it is now a platform where people create superficial online identities.

This massive social network made people feel as if they are to perform for a large

number of audience, so they establish their online profiles in a way that they want other

people to see them. Soon after, these ideal identities set standards or norms that eventually

pressured a lot of social media users to catch up.

Certain styles, appearances and body images that are considered “in” or acceptable

are what a lot of people online try hard to conform to. They even use available apps like

Photoshop or image filters to make sure that they get good feedback that are usually in the

form of “likes”.

When people feel like they fail to conform to these standards, their perception of

themselves starts to get affected and they start to constantly question their worth. They lose

their sense of belongingness, and this leads to anxiety or to even worse mental health issues like depression and can be a cause of greater concern. That being the case, when you create a perfect image of yourself online, you are actually putting your mental health at risk.

Socializing will never be a wrong thing to do as long as you do not mistake performing for it. So ask yourself, are you socializing? Or are you performing? If you do things online for the “likes” and it’s starting to affect your mental health and it’s controlling you, start thinking.

Stop what stops you!