Meditating regularly leads to more clarity and more space in your mind. Today, in 2022, humans are more overloaded with information, or digital "content" than ever before. Our brains are constantly watching, scrolling, viewing, thinking, processing, and converting. Simply, the vast majority of us consume too much media. We are literally overdosing on the information. With the large number of ideas that we consume daily our brains have to decide what requires our attention and you process these things & think about them consciously, and the rest of it goes into the subconscious mind.
The more content that you consume, the more you need to meditate. More content means more noise in your mind. Ultimately, disrupting your peace of mind if you let it take over.
Most people wake up, rollover, and hop on their phones. They check their messages, their email, maybe news or social media, scrolling, consuming before they've even had a sip of water. When we first wake up and right before we fall asleep, our minds are most sensitive and are primmed to accept new thoughts. So this is the ultimate time to tell yourself positive and loving thoughts, thoughts of faith and hope.
By not being intentional with your focus and consciousness, you allow it to be filled with the nonsense and noise of the internet. Stories about people that you don't know and might never meet, filtered photos, and curated content.
Inevitably, leading you to internalize these things, ideas, and images; and sometimes that leads to feelings of inadequacy. You see someone else's life (or highlight reel), and you compare it to your own unique journey. You might even see someone's 100th step, and compare it to your first steps. . . This can lead to all sorts of issues including higher anxiety levels, less self-compassion, drama in your personal life, and more.
Eliminate triggers from your online space: if you know that a certain tv show or social account makes you anxious or overly invested -> consider finding a new hobby or creative expression that you can channel your energy to. Consume less, create more! Create for fun and for the sake of creation. Making art can be a great method of meditation that helps connect you with something bigger than yourself.
People should take some of what they see on the internet with a grain of salt. And all things should be looked at within the context of it being part of a larger whole.
So many people these days edit their photos, cropping, brightening, and altering. This leads to a distorted view of "reality." And can be especially harmful to teenagers in their developing years. Many studies have found that today's teens experience higher levels of depression, anxiety, unhappiness, and even hopelessness.
If social media is causing you stress, you should definitely take a social media detox, and then reconsider how you want to use the apps to your benefit, and not to your detriment. Having set scrolling times, and unfollowing all of the accounts that leave you feeling icky can be some great steps to take to strengthen your mental health.
One great habit that you can practice is intentionally spending time away from your phone, walking around your block, reading a book, cooking a meal, etc, and being grateful for the time to do so. Be grateful that you can put your phone down and just be where you are.
