Millions of individuals turned to Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok and other platforms to escape feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and isolation, due to the Covid 19’s lockdowns and contact restrictions. For many individuals, excessive screen time has led to deep mental anguish, strong emotional attachment to social media and addictive behaviors.
Researchers investigated the effects of reducing social media use and increasing physical activity, or both, on emotional well- being and tobacco consumption.
Mental health consists of two interrelated, but separate dimension, which are positive and negative, said study’s authors.
With this paradigm, they hypothesized that the negative dimension would decrease depression symptoms and addictive tendencies of social media use and the positive dimension of their intervention would increase life satisfaction and subjective happiness.
Dr. Merrill said excessive use of social media could end up exacerbating. Mental issues for individuals with addictive vulnerabilities or behavioral health conditions. There’s the brain reward system that you get from scrolling, clicking or maintaining the use of social media.
Dr. Zablow a psychiatrist emphasized that exercise is an essential part which is recommended for any treatment program. If a person does not exercise, Psychotherapy indicated medicine will not work.
He also mentioned that exercise increases the production of neurotransmitters, the brains natural antidepressants and antianxiety molecules.
Less activity due to social media overuse, can curtail healthy brain chemistry while more exercise can build mental health.
Conscious and controlled reduction of time spent on social media use as well as an increase of time spent on physical activity could causally reduce negative mental health consequences of the covid -19 situation, and believed that combining both interventions might amplify this effect, said by Dr. Brailosvskaiat and her colleagues.
The methods can easily fit into a day-to-day life, with less cost, effort or risk of violating covid 19 protocols. The experiments done by scientist, expected to reduce stress which is caused by Covid -19 and diminish smoking behavior.
To protect and enhance mental health conveniently and affordably modest changes in social media use and physical activity would help. Said by Dr. Brailosvskaia.
How social media use can minimize solation and help spread information was recognize by Professor and her team.
The researches wrote that it is important to consciously limit one’s online accessibility and to go back a physically active lifestyle, in the age of digitalization to be happy and healthy.
