Social Media Is Medicine: Why Virtual Socializing Isn't Toxic | Using Social Media as a Mental Health Tool | #152
Learn why social media is medicine, not toxic, for people with health limitations, chronic illness, or social constraints with resilience coach Dawn Super's nuanced defense of virtual socializing. This guide is for those who lean on social media for most interactions because of physical limitations, mental health constraints, narcolepsy, shift work, or other challenges that make in-person socializing difficult.
Discover why positive social interactions improve wakefulness for people with narcolepsy, how to tell if you're using social media or if it's using you, and why comparison culture exists everywhere (movies, TV, magazines) not just online. Includes honest self-examination questions: Are you happy for others' success or jealous? Does social media make you feel good or inadequate? Are you learning and connecting or doom-scrolling?
Learn why social media isn't the problem (it's the scapegoat), how curated content affects comparison, and why a 2,500-member positivity-only narcolepsy group wouldn't exist without Facebook. Perfect for isolated people, chronic illness warriors, empty nesters, work-from-home individuals, and anyone defending their social media use against "it's toxic" narratives.
Watch the Video Here or Read the Script below
Social Media Is Medicine: Using It Correctly When You Have Limitations
Social media is a tool, and there is a danger if you don't use it correctly.
Today's dose is for a very specific group of people: Those who lean on social media for most of our interactions with the world because we have limitations.
We either can't go out physically, don't have the mental headspace for public outings, or live with time constraints from health issues, shift work, or some other challenge.
We keep up with family and friends on social platforms - either one-on-one or in groups related to local communities, our particular health issues, or other topics of interest.
We also use social media to meet new people, keep in touch with each other, and learn more about what's going on in our world and inside of our own bodies.
Okay? So that's very specific.
So if you're still here, we're going to go one more layer down.
And if all that resonated with you - and even though you like being on social media, you've heard people say "social media is toxic" and you're second-guessing yourself a bit.
You're wondering if maybe it really IS bad for you. Are you addicted? Do you need to detox? Is social media ruining your self-esteem, making you suffer from comparison, or some other negative thing?
If I ask you: "Do you use social media, or does social media use you?" - and you're not sure of the answer?
Welcome in to your Daily Dose of Dawn at Dawn - videos designed to expand your thinking.
Okay, so why do we want to think about this? To deepen our self-trust.
If someone tells us something we are successfully using as a mental health management tool is actually bad for us, it sticks in the back of our minds and makes us second-guess ourselves.
So what does that mean? It means when I see articles about how bad social media is, I don't agree with them. When I see people saying their lives were improved by giving up Facebook, it doesn't make any sense to me.
That's me NOW. But before, I used to wonder: Are they right?
So I took a deep dive into my own thinking to be honest with myself about it.
So what does that look like in real life?
I'm being honest with myself about comparison.
Are you happy for the success of others, or do you feel jealous they have something you don't?
Doing a self-esteem gut check.
Does looking at or reading things on social media make you feel bad about yourself?
Examining our motivations.
Are we using social media to deepen our knowledge and our connection to others? Or using it as a portal to discover everything that's wrong with the world?
A really good way to tell is: Do you feel good when you're on it?
Okay, maybe not so much the way the world is right now with the things that you're seeing in particular - but outside of that, when you're using Facebook and interacting with the things that you follow and the people that you're connected to, do you feel good when you're on it?
For me, before AI came around, Facebook was the only way I could have intelligent conversations with people from all over the world.
Narcolepsy is rare, but it connected me to fascinating people.
I work from home. I'm an empty nester. Managing a difficult meatsuit. Virtual socializing has been my main stay for over a decade.
It was on Facebook - through having my Positively Narcolepsy page - that I learned positive social interactions improve wakefulness for people with narcolepsy, and in a more healthy way than anger, especially with the result on the body.
It's actually medicine to socialize, even virtually.
And social media connects us to our neighborhood programs, events, gatherings - virtual and in-person.
Okay, so what makes social media bad? And how do you make sure you're using it in a way that benefits you?
One of my primary arguments with the whole "social media is bad" umbrella is that it's not only through social media that these beauty standards and other "keep up with the Joneses" type mentalities live.
They're literally everywhere. Movies, magazines, TV, streaming services. It's not just social media where you suffer comparison.
The biggest difference is: When you see people on TV and in magazines and in the movies, it seems unattainable. And when you see them on social media, it's easier to compare yourself directly to them.
And that's why it's so important for us to remember that social media is a curated experience.
All the creators that you watch - including me - set up their shots, pick their wardrobe. They're prepared to deliver what they're delivering to you. And a lot of it is filtered and made up.
So you can't compare yourself.
When you use social media matters, too.
I can go to social media and consume it when I'm at my strongest mentally, and avoid it when I'm at my weakest.
Like any tool, it can be misused. I'm doing a contract job where the employees have to sign a document - a "use of tools agreement" - that they agree to use the tools only as they were intended.
And sometimes I wish I could do that with people.
I run a group on Facebook with over 2,500 people who have narcolepsy. It's a one-of-a-kind positivity-only group.
And that means I created a space where people with a rare disease can go talk to other people with the same rare disease and not worry about getting drama dumped on.
That would never have happened without social media.
Because it's a positivity-only group, people go in there a lot more easily because they don't have to worry about getting depressed reading someone else's story - and so they learn more, and it gives them more strength.
And yes, you have every reason to complain if something's wrong with you. But you're stronger if you don't.
The most important thing here is that you are honest with you. Don't lie to yourself.
Are you using it to keep yourself uplifted, or are you feeling inadequate just looking at it all?
Do you go on so you can feel connected and encourage others? Or are you practicing how colorful your language can be, telling people off for being "wronger than wrong"?
Do you feel good about yourself no matter what you see on social media? If so, wonderful. Feel good about that for real.
If not, I'm sorry - but it's not social media's fault. It's just the scapegoat.
It is possible to get on your own side and feel good about yourself no matter what you are looking at - social media or otherwise.
I get it. It took me 35 years just to like myself. So I know the struggle firsthand.
If you can't afford coaching to help you feel good about yourself, my book helps a lot with that: How to Be on Your Own Side. And if you can't afford it, reach out to me and I'll give you a copy - for real.
Lastly, in this examination of "is social media using you or you using social media":
Are you enjoying the things you're interacting with on your social media? Are they adding to your life? Are you laughing and learning and sharing to uplift your friends?
If so, great. Keep doing that.
And if not, switch things up. Use the tool to your advantage.
So the next time someone questions if you'd improve your life by quitting social media, you can now feel comfortable defending your position.
And defending your position will help others learn how to do things in a healthy way - leading with love and teaching by example.
Because together, we all win.
If social media makes you feel inadequate - it's not social media's fault. It's the scapegoat.
The real issue? You're not on your own side yet.
In my workbook How to Be on Your Own Side, you'll learn to feel good about yourself no matter what you're looking at - social media or otherwise.
And if you can't afford it? Reach out. I'll give you a copy. For real.
