We live in a culture of instant gratification, getting likes, attention and validation immediately. Our mammalian brains constantly seek to move closer to pleasure, validation and excitement, and away from pain, isolation and boredom. The constant comparison and obsession with popularity, or the “keeping up with the Jones” can start to make us feel alone, isolated, and depressed. For some, this can become an addiction – the dependence on external love to regulate our emotions. What happens if we don’t get the external support we are expecting?
The Covid-19 Pandemic, in many ways, revealed our lopsidedness and over dependence on external support systems. If it had a voice, it may have said, “let me show you what it’s like to really be always online”. The irony is, the more that we are interconnected through the internet, the less we tend to be truly connected, to the world and to ourselves.
If you are thinking that you may need to start taking a break from social media to reconnect to yourself, therapy can be a powerful tool of guidance as you explore ways to navigate reconnecting to a deeper community and loosening your dependency on the intoxication and power of social media.