Steemit Engagement Challenge / S13W2 - "Protect your Mental Health from Social media Dangers"

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Hello buddies, It is another great moment to join the engagement challenge for the week in view. I am happy to be doing that in the healthy steem community and on a topic that relates our mental health with how we handle social media platforms. No doubt that since the advent of social media, it has been man's companion in several ways. Let's dive into the topic of the day using the hints given.

Social media started in my life with the creation of my first email account on Yahoo. It was my first taste and feel of the internet and this came with so much aura. It was my first platform for relating to people digitally. This happened sometime in 2001 when a group of us went to the cyber cafe to create accounts for ourselves so as to enable us to interact freely with each other since it was obvious that school days were over and we were supposed to journey to our different locations.

I also opened other social media platforms like Facebook, Skype, and Messenger (Facebook, WhatsApp, etc). It was the driver of activities for me then which saw that I interacted with even more wider friends, both existing and new friends that I made online. At this early stage, it was more of interactions, interconnectivity, and socializing with all we could lay our hands on.

Presently, social media in my life isn't all about those moments of laughing and milling anymore but has gone a step ahead to bring about executing business deals online, creating wealth online, and other profiteering offers. Staying in the media platforms entails that one has to recharge their data bundles and this should be wasted on just the platform of not indulging in income-driven agendas.

Therefore, it is a combination of connectivity with friends, making money online through business offers and averts and as well as carry out remote jobs with companies. One can now easily work from the comfort of their home by engaging in activities on social media platforms that create value for money.

For the number of hours spent on the platform, I have been able to track some of my activities using my mobile device. The digital well-being feature in my phone enables me to know that I spend an average of about 6 hours of my day on the social media platform. My major players are WhatsApp and TikTok which dominate the day's activity when compared to other Apps. There are times when Telegram and Facebook also top the chart but all this is dependent on where the vue is coming from at the moment.

• Addiction/Unhealthy Lifestyle

Out overindulgence in the use of social media platforms may see to the effect that we are addicted to our devices. This habit is one of the kind that is unhealthy as a lifestyle. Most times we see ourselves keeping late nights just to have hold on our devices and thereby having less sleeping time. The accumulated effects cannot be over-emphasized.

• Exposure to Porns/Adults Sites

Our underage loved ones may be lured directly or indirectly to these harmful sites. For the fact that we surf the internet, there are tendencies that we may run into these sites through ads on the platforms. We all know the urge to replicate what learned traits we have in our kids, they seem to be on the high side.

• Longer Screen Time

This is another side effect of social media that allows us to have more exposure to screens. We all know the aftermath effects of longer screen time to our sights. These unguarded lights in the eyes are gradual sight killers if unchecked. No wonder the use of anti-blue glasses that are prescribed in some cases.

• Unnecessary Competition

Many displayed lifestyles on most social platforms are fake and hence this creates unhealthy competition among peers. Trying to be like others we meet or see on social media platforms, puts us in positions that are unnecessary for us. We have to be contenpted and live within our means irrespective of the pressure from any platform.

• Financial Leakages

Any social media platform that does not guarantee any form of income in cash or value in kind is not worth the huge data we invest in it. Over time, this has been the silent financial leakage we have yet to uncover. Due to our overindulgence, we use more data bundles and spend more money just to stay in the media. And sometimes, they yield nothing to us.

• Reduce Over Indulgence Except for Income generating activities. This measure will help reduce unnecessary financial leakages and loss of man-hours required for other productive tasks.

• Put parental guides on some of these sites where kids are around to help keep them away from adult sites. This will go a long way in keeping their mental, emotional, and psychological health in check.

• Awareness of the fact that not all that glitters is gold. We should be able to be conscious of the fact that social media platforms come with a lot of show-offs and competition and therefore we should be contented with what we have. We do need to do this because others are doing the same but have to work with our convenience at all times.

• Averting cases of longer screen times which come with relatively sight defects. In cases where we are only being productive for income-generating activity, we need to make use of lenses that are protective shields to the sight.

• Government stringent measures to make policies that would regulate the social media platform in such a way that it does not become an avenue for abusive and inciting platforms. There should be a code of conduct that should be in place to regulate all negative vices by reducing them to their bearest minimum.

In summary, I will really say that despite some of the demerits associated with the use of social media platforms, it also avails us of some great and positive features that make the world a global village. Life is a lot simpler as communication has broken the barrier that makes it difficult to relate with people outside our homes.

I hope to invite @joymm, @bossj23, and @ngoenyi.

Thank you!!!