I think I can speak for us all when saying it's obvious how rapidly technology has changed our lives.
Think back even 10 years ago -- What did your cell look like? Did you even HAVE a cellphone? And yeah, social media existed but it wasn't the epicenter of social existence for our kids - let alone us.
Now think back to what kids (or even you) did with your time 10 years ago. Are there things that have ever so slightly been taken over and occupied by smartphones and social media?
Whatever your forgotten activity is, it probably left you feeling better than your current habits do. That's the ongoing irony we've been experiencing in recent years.
Research has shown that the more time we spend on social media, the more likely we are to feel worse after having done so. Yet, consistently, people continue to spend even more time with it... updating Facebook statuses, tweeting out nonsense, Instagramming pictures that only you care about, and Snapchatting life away.
Tie that in with this morbid fact: teenage suicide has also been on the uptrend in recent years. So, what role could our digital habits really be playing in the perpetuation of negativity? What a recent study uncovered was pretty alarming:
Among teens studied (most commonly 8th graders):
Those who spend six or more hours per week on social media are 47 percent more likely to be unhappy compared to those who don't
Those who spend 3+ hours per day using social media are 35 percent more at risk of suicide
Heavy users are also 27 percent more likely to be clinically depressed
Yikes. Right?
And if it has that impact on your kids what about you?
A boss of mine about 15 years ago said something that has always stayed with me -- He said the easiest way to get better is to stop doing the bad stuff.
If your kids are showing signs that concern you, if you find that you're being negatively impacted...maybe you should consider simply not doing the bad stuff (subjecting yourself to all of the negativity on social media).
Let's try to hop off the computer and back into engaging activities. Like the good ole' days. There's nothing wrong with that!