You’ve hit the dark side of social media — a sudden bombardment of political news comes swarming your way and you flounder. Parsing through the influx of news, you struggle between the curiosity-driven desire to scroll and the rising sense of unease over what this world has become.
For many students, social media platforms act as the most convenient source of topical news. It’s an easy and accessible way to quickly examine the current going-ons of the world. However, it comes as no surprise that social media can increase the amount of stress a person has while they scroll.
“Our brains are not meant to be inundated with a 24 hour news cycle,” said Kate Carmichael, owner and clinical director of ATX Counseling. “It’s very overwhelming for the way that your brain operates, so it flips you into a fight or flight mode. We really were not meant to receive that much information and process that much information so quickly.”
In a particularly divisive time of politics, incredibly emotional and sensitive topics are often being talked about in a casual or clipped manner over social media. Topics that would be difficult to digest even in longer formats, such as TV news coverage or news articles, are suddenly flooding people’s “for you” pages at an exhaustive rate. But amidst the chaos it’s important to remember that our reactions to potentially negative things we see on social media aren’t a defect; rather, it points to the root of our humanity and care for people beyond ourselves.
“You know, it is very normal to have these strong reactions,” said Hayden Rosato, a licensed professional counselor at Bloom Therapy. “I think a lot of times that reflects our values back to us … seeing these things going on politically … it can be very upsetting because it just doesn’t feel aligned with who we are and what we value.”
While our reactions to upsetting content are normal, we shouldn’t lose sight of our own well-being as we try to figure out how to absorb the constant barrage of negative news on our screen. Knowing yourself and how you react to the news is a crucial part of protecting your mental health online. However, you shouldn’t turn a blind eye to all of news as ignorant bliss does not erase political issues. It’s still important to receive informative news from credible sources without sacrificing your mental health.
“This is not an easy time to be coming of age in the world … feeling powerless is normal,” Carmichael said. “You are powerless in many ways, but what you can control are your own boundaries, and your own responses to things.”
When you come across news on social media that makes you feel uncomfortable, disturbed, hopeless or sad, a helpful strategy in protecting your mental health can be to pause and connect with your body by examining your physical reactions.
“I really like teaching my clients to really stay connected with their bodies,” said Jasmine Sanders, LPC at Bloom Therapy. “Our bodies tell us a lot and when they’re anxious, you feel a lot of tightness (in your) throat, chest, stomach …”
Ultimately, for those who feel like they are constantly battling with their own emotions as they see the news play out in real time, it’s important to know that you’re not alone in feeling this way. Being engaged in today’s political atmosphere is extremely important, and protecting your mental health and wellbeing equips us to be better allies in this world.
Thomas is a government freshman from Frisco, Texas.
