Social Media Makes You Fat & Anxious?!

^^^ LOL- my face when someone says social media makes you fat & anxious ^^^

That title is aggressive- I know, but hear me out (cause I don’t love the F word either).

My Dad is an avid news watcher & total buzzkiller… so naturally he informed me about a new study that literally proves social media is literally making people gain weight & become incredibly anxious.

HARSH.

First let’s start w/ anxiety, you know… my bff (but not at all). Social networking is meant to bring people together, but unfortunately it can do the opposite. Social media can be isolating & can actually make people feel disconnected & alone. These feelings can often result in social anxiety (hmmm… didn’t I just talk about social anxiety?), which than bring on more loneliness, & the cycle just goes on & on.

On top of that… you spend so much time building a social network, & the larger it gets, the more stress it causes. Scientifically speaking, stress increase cortisol levels, & high cortisol levels are a huge cause of stress, anxiety, depression, etc.

Then there is that whole keeping up with the Joneses thing. The #FOMO moments & the #GOALS cause feelings of being less than, which obviously can lead to feelings of depression & inadequacy. We talked all about that here & here, because I really am big on talking about the fact that what you see on the feed is NOT real life.

Now… for the whole weight gain factor, because honestly– who woulda thought scrolling Instagram can lead to an extra 5-10lbs?!

I don’t know about you guys, but the first thing I do in the morning is check my phone & then get on my computer to do my emails. Gone are the days where the first thing you do is eat breakfast, but what they say is true, skipping breakfast slows your metabolism TREMENDOUSLY & a slow metabolism is not what you’re going for… ever.

As the day goes on, you scroll the feed multiple times a day& are constantly being bombarded with all of the #foodporn. Seeing food displayed so beautifully does nothing but make you hungry, which leads to indulging when you really aren’t even actually hungry.

Lastly, the whole blue light/circadian rhythm dilemma. All of our electronics emit blue light, & blue light is actually the worst. It fights with natural light, so when you are staring at your screen after the sun goes down, it makes your brain think it’s still light out… so it makes sleeping SO much harder (hence why iPhone’s now have a nighttime mode that turns the screen orange). Sleep deprivation is commonly linked to higher fat levels, that nasty cortisol spike that is not only linked to anxiety, but extra belly fat as well, & a whole slew of other really nasty health issues.

SO- if that’s not reason enough to rethink your social media usage, IDK what is.

I guess this is some sort of a PSA, but for me too, cause I suck at taking social media breaks. After doing the research that went into this post though, I am going to really try my hardest to shut down earlier, avoid all the drool worthy food pics, & take breaks from the social networks way more often. I’ve got enough anxiety to deal with, & it’s bikini season…. so there’s that.

Comments? Questions? Concerns? LMK if you guys have experienced any of the above & if you have any tips to staying healthy while getting social.

p.s. thx dad <3