You dont have to delete social media 4 more healthy ways to use it that will reduce stress

Don’t want to ditch social media, but feel like it’s taking a toll on your mental health? You might not have to choose. New research from the University of British Columbia suggests that improving mental health among young people isn’t about reducing time spent on social media, but rather changing the way they engage with it.“For many young people, it’s not about logging off.It’s about leaning in — in the right way,” said Dr.

Amori Mikami, a psychology professor at UBC and lead author of the study, who pinpointed four strategies for more mindful social media use.US teens spend an average of 4.8 hours a day glued to social media apps like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X, according to a Gallup poll.While there’s no concrete evidence directly linking social media to the surge in mental health issues among adolescents and young adults, studies show that the more time people spend scrolling, the higher their chances of experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem.In one survey, three in four Gen Zers said that social media has negatively impacted their mental health.However, many also pointed to the positives of being online, such as connecting with loved ones and finding others who share their experiences, interests or identities.“There’s a lot of talk about how damaging social media can be, but our team wanted to see if this was really the full picture or if the way people engage with social media might make a difference,” said Mikami.To find out, Mikami and her team recruited 393 Canadians aged 17 to 29 who were experiencing mental health symptoms and were concerned about the effect of social media on their well-being.The participants were split into three groups:After six weeks, researchers found that both the abstinence and tutorial groups reduced their social media usage, engaged in less passive scrolling and spent less time comparing themselves to others.Each approach also brought its own mental health bene...