ARE YOU DUE A social media break?

We've normalised spending the bulk of our time on social media so, we won't immediately know when our minds are overstimulated. How will you know if it's time to step away and be more present? We've roped in an expert to shed some light on the reality of excessive screen time

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SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BECOME A BIG PART of our lives, and with all the mindless scrolling, we might not even realise just how much time we spend online. Psychiatrist practising at Netcare Akeso Milnerton, Dr Abongile Makuluma, enlightens that, "it's time to step away when it starts becoming a problem, and negatively affecting your relationships, work, or physical and mental or emotional health."

Glamour: What are some of the psychological effects of spending too much time on social media?

Dr Makuluma: There are mixed associations between too much time spent on social media with depression and anxiety, especially where social connectedness is the main driver for use. There is also a bidirectional relationship between social network service (SNS) use and life satisfaction, and negative emotional wellbeing. It is also important to differentiate between passive use or active use, and in the latter, whether there is content production (public) or interactive communication. Passive use is not directly related to depression and anxiety, whereas active use has a positive correlation with depression and anxiety. Although there is a dearth of research on social media and its psychological effects, it is important to bear in mind that a lot still remains unknown and ongoing research is currently being undertaken, therefore our knowledge is continuously updated.

G: Some people report that social media makes them anxious, is there a direct link between social media and anxiety?