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Therapy for Social Media & Digital Wellness
Mental Health Care Must Address the Impact of Technology
We cannot deny how much the Internet has changed our world. Everything has been affected, whether directly or indirectly, and as we address our mental health we must also address how technology and the industry around it are designed in order to heal emotionally and mentally.
As a therapist, I believe in education as an empowerment tool for all of us to be able to make informed decisions and move through our feelings and decision-making with grace. As a millennial, I frequently bridge the gaps between generations exposed to different facets of technology at different stages in time. As a cognitive science nerd, I hope to connect the multi-disciplinary ways to study the mind and the brain with how we reimagine systems for mental health. And as a human being working towards decolonization, I believe technology can be wielded with equity.
Technology & Mental Health
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We are all carrying around an addictive device in our pockets at all times. The hardest part can be to interrupt the cycle of doomscrolling, officially added to the Merriam Webster Dictionary because of its pervasiveness. I’ve written a piece here called: “How to Scroll Without the Doom”
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So many of us use technology for a wide variety of things. We hear about many disadvantages and detriments when it comes to social media and smart phone use. We also may consider some of the positives, such as increased neurological development, creating community, and empowerment across the world audience. In order to balance both the positive and negative, I believe in creating mindful and intentional use of technology to support your values.
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According to current research, yes. There are nuances of course but in general, yes. And it is also a pretty challenging task to implement on your own, depending on your relationship to your phone and how you use social media. Check out Harvard’s blog for some tips on how to change your habits.
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Our brains evolved to how they are today for a LONG time.. we are talking between 2 million to 500,000 years! And technology has existed for… well, so little time in comparison. Our brains expect cues that come from real life; social media gives us a feed for the dopamine reward system in our brains, but none of the emotional and tangible connection. In order to make social media actually social, we have to bring more conscious intention to how we engage.