CLEVELAND — If you're like most people, you probably spend way too much time on your phone, and in particular social media. For a lot of people during the COVID-19 pandemic, social media has been a way for us to stay connected to the people we love while being forced to socially distance.
But it's no secret prolonged social media obsession can be damaging to mental health, especially during a time that's already stressful.
"When we’re on social media it isn’t always the healthiest kind of connection,” said Jane Pernotto-Ehrman, a behavioral health specialist at Cleveland Clinic. “Given COVID, given the politics and the stressors going on for all of us in our individual lives, we can find ourselves scrolling and scrolling and being triggered by upsetting things that are posted."
Pernotto-Ehrman says it's easy to feel a range of emotions when you're plugged in — from jealousy to anger, and if your social media habit is making you feel that way, it might be time to take a break.
“When we say, 'okay, I am going to check social media at this time of the day and keep it to that and not check it first thing in the morning and not check it every time they have a break,'” she said. “So that they have some regulation to their day and their time, I think that’s helpful.”
According to the Clinic, limiting your social media exposure to 30 minutes or less per day can actually improve your mood in the long run. That's much easier said than done, so the Clinic recommends if you're especially addicted, you may want to put your phone in a different room for a while, to avoid temptation.