A video of a teen ranting about their struggles. News headlines reporting political tensions. Strangers, begging for donations to help them in their dire situation. These are all things we witness as people living in suburban Kansas, as long as we have a phone or a TV.
Although we as people should have empathy for the state of the world and the other people who occupy it with us, sometimes, it just gets to be too much. Instead of burdening ourselves with these issues, we need to protect and maintain our needs first.
Social media is great because it connects us to people all over the world. We are able to learn more about our world and the people in it, as well as problems or solutions they might have, so we can all learn. It is not so great in the sense that a firehose of information is constantly spraying us down, drowning us in a sea of problems that are most of the time completely out of our control.
With the unavoidable internet, we are exposed to so many horrors. Piling these problems onto our own minds can be very overwhelming and ultimately harm us in our completely separate lives.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs describes the general needs people must have in order to be fulfilled. At the bottom is the most basic, food and water, and as you move up the diagram, it describes the need for loved ones and respect. Now apply this idea on the larger scale of how we take care of people. At the foundation of everyone’s pyramid is ensuring you are doing well, mentally and physically. Moving up this pyramid is concerning for the people in your life, and at the top are people around the world. If the foundation of the pyramid is rocky, then the whole structure crumbles.
A guaranteed way to destroy the pyramid is constant exposure to stressful worldwide events. According to an article on the American Psychological Association, when people are constantly reading the frightening headlines that appear on the news, on social media and on TV, they can develop a feeling of learned helplessness. On social media specifically, a particular headline can dominate your feed, making it seem this dooming event is the only event happening. This lowers “coping capacity” and causes anxiety and depression.
During the cold winter months and while in the trenches of school, protecting our mental health is incredibly important. As students, we already have enough to deal with, from homework to relationships to activities. Worrying about something we cannot control only piles onto our problems.
Listen when we say prioritize yourself, but do not completely block out the rest of the world. First, that task is nearly impossible, and second, having empathy for people around you is a vital part of being a kind and considerate human. The key to finding the balance between maintaining your health and caring for others is setting boundaries.
What we can control is how much media we consume and what topics we choose to dwell on. Maybe this looks like limiting your time online, turning to an enjoyable hobby during free time or being aware of how long you spend on a video that could affect your entire social media algorithm. Instead of doomscrolling at home, go out and find some way to be involved in a cause you care about, as scrolling online does nothing to actually help.
Focusing on changes we can make in our routines and in the world as young adults will help to lift the weight of other people’s problems off our already occupied shoulders. At the end of the day, we can only help other people when our own mind and body are taken care of.
