The Secret Effects of Social Media: Why You Find Yourself Exhausted After Just a Couple of Minutes

Social media is everywhere in the digital age. Just a quick scroll here, a tap there—that's all it takes these days, right? Have you ever noticed how your "just a couple of minutes" always seem to turn into hours? And how they leave you feeling a little off afterwards? Let's take a dive into what really happens during those seemingly harmless moments online.

1. Time Goes Without You Being Aware

You pick up your phone to check a notification and are unaware that 30 minutes have gone by. Social media sites and applications are designed to keep you occupied as long as possible by providing endless feeds of content that is boldly designed and engaging. What was meant to be a short break ends up taking most of the time. That is probably one of the sneakiest effects of social media: it makes you lose track of time without you even noticing it.

Why It Matters: If time flies, sometimes critical work, study, or time with near and dear family members gets wasted. You will also feel a guilty conscience about "wasting time," causing you extra stress.


2. Mood Swings: The Emotional Roller Coaster

Have you ever noticed your mood changing due to something that you read through social media? That is because everything you scroll over can make you feel different things. You might feel jealous and angry when you are scrolling over your friend's vacation photos because headlines can be frightening or infuriating. At another time, funny videos or post comments-those usually good-may uplift you.

Why It Matters: Mood that is hyper-fluctuating through social media can lead to emotional exhaustion. If you find that every time you use social media, you are feeling down or stressful, then perhaps it is time to take a step back and reflect on how it's impacting your mental health.


3. Decreased Attention Span: The Attention Thief

Social media is an attention deficiency machine. The way it pings and dings at every conceivable moment, with new material always there at your fingertips, conditions the brain to desire those quick hits of information. So long after your social media session, you could easily find yourself hard-pressed to pay attention to better things about your schoolwork, job, or even a simple conversation.

Why It Matters: This constant distraction will erode your ability to concentrate and be productive. Even things that require a high amount of concentration, like reading a book or working on a project, may start to become much harder to sink into.


4. Fatigue: The Digital Hangover

While it appears that scrolling through social media is a pretty easy task, it isn't. The brain is constantly processing a great deal of information with speed, from images and video to words, and doing this repeatedly. The activity can be mentally exhausting, just like if you had worked all day.

Why It Matters: Psychological exhaustion makes you feel drained and unmotivated. You can't seem to relax or "switch off your brain" once you have gone on a social media binge, which creates issues with sleep, general well-being, and even social relationships.


5. The comparison trap: The downside of highlight reels

Social media sites feature only the top moments of people's lives: vacations, achievements, and happiness. It's hard not to compare your average life to these show-off version postings. You may begin to feel like you're doing nothing or that little, if anything, happens to you.

Why It Matters: Constantly comparing yourself to others has terrible impacts on your self-esteem and mental health. Do remember that what you see on social media is probably just the glossed-up reality.


How to Break the Cycle

If you have suffered these effects through spending time on social media, then here are a few easy ways you can regain control:

1. Use App Timers: Time your daily, frequent social media use.

2. Be Aware: Think every time you want to click on an app: Why are you opening this? Are you bored, stressed out, or just looking for something to get you away?

3. Edit Your Feed: Only have in your feed those who make you feel good and do never have in your feed someone who doesn't feel good for you.

4. Step Away: Sometimes take time away from your screen to reset your brain.


Conclusion

Social media is not all bad, however. It can be great for keeping in touch and entertained, but you should be aware of the hidden effects social media can have on your time, mood, focus, and self-esteem. Awareness of usage can make you enjoy the benefits of social media without letting it dominate everything else in your life.