Mental Health in the Digital Age: Dealing with Social Pressure on Social Media

In the digital era, social media has become an inseparable part of everyday life. With social media, we can communicate, share stories and find information easily. However, behind all that, social media also brings pressure that affects mental health. Some pressures that affect mental health such as often comparing yourself to someone's life that looks perfect on social media, being exposed to negative comments, cyberbullying and the desire to always be recognized through "likes" or comments can also add to the burden of thought.

The steps we can take are to regulate the use of social media so that we do not depend too much or spend a lot of time there. Try to make a daily schedule to stay productive. In addition, it is important for us to understand that what is displayed on social media is not necessarily like reality. So that we can be calmer and not affected by the standard of living on social media.

The next step is to choose content that brings us to positive things. In addition, we can also join a community where people support and encourage each other. That way social media will feel safer and more comfortable to use.

In addition to being active in using social media, we also need to pay more attention to real life. By spending time with family, friends or people closest to us such as doing sports, walking or just talking to them can help us reduce stress. Focusing on real-world relationships makes us happier and reduces dependence on social media.

Social pressure is a real challenge for mental health in this digital era. However, to be able to deal with it we need to build self-awareness to manage the time of using social media, create a positive social media environment, and focus more on real life. That way we can maintain mental health while still enjoying the benefits of social media