Social media and negative news becoming too overwhelming? Here’s how to combat it

1 Be Selective

Constantly glued to a screen? It’s time you get back to reality and learn to foster healthy relationships with those around you. Try limiting your screen time by adapting certain habits, like not scrolling through social media during meals with friends and family, or when spending quality time with your kids or partner. But most of all, don’t let it draw your attention away from your work, sleep, or other tasks.
Top Tip: Try to not keep your phone or computer in the bedroom, as it will disturb your sleep.

2 Have Some Downtime/h4>
Just as a health detox is important to rid the body of toxins, so is a social media detox to cleanse the mind of negative news, especially amidst a global pandemic. Introduce ‘no news’ days in which you switch off from social media and the news completely. This way, you are not giving it up completely, but rather finding a healthy balance.<

3 Reach Out

The world can be a very bad place, and from time to time you will find your feed flooded with negative news stories. This negativity can have a bad impact on us, especially, for example, if the news is related to things we are passionate about or it’s regarding a tragedy in our home country. Having empathy is good, but if negative news starts affecting you on a deeper level, it’s worth chatting to someone you trust about this. Whether it be a close friend, your partner or even a counsellor, speaking to someone can help alleviate overwhelming feelings.

4 Clean Up Your Feed

It’s natural for our interests to change over time. In fact, it’s not uncommon to find that the people you followed or friended a year ago don’t inspire you as much as they first did. Perhaps you’ve realised that keeping up with the latest social media trends or celebrity gossip is just plain overwhelming. When you feel this way, consider keeping a safe distance. By that we mean do a social media audit. Unfollow all the accounts that don’t spark joy (Marie Kondo style). This extends to family and friends, co-workers, influencers and brands. If you feel unfollowing them is a bit too drastic, maybe just try muting those accounts for a while. You should do an audit on your social media apps too. List them in order of most frequently used, and then mark the ones you feel you can’t live without – and be honest with yourself. The remainder is what you should delete.

5 Mute The Mayhem

Fake news travels fast. You may not have noticed, constantly receiving fake news can lead to anxiety about all news. Only follow verified news sources – Twitter is good for quick news updates. And only follow groups and channels that you trust.

Words: Dylon Phillips | Photography: Unsplash