Does social media stress you out? Research indicates that it can cause anxiety and even depression. I’ve heard countless people say they felt great after taking a break from it. Why is that?  In this episode I want to offer a breakdown of the recent social media landscape; how it may be harming us, what we can do to keep our sanity. [04:56] Links between social media and anxiety and depression. [10:37] Social media seems to be getting darker and the cons are beginning to outweigh the pros.  [14:23] A large part of it stems from anonymity, and losing face-to-face interactions. [18:49] There's a major lack of accountability. [22:52] There's a lack of discourse and an inflation of terminology. [24:22] The main factor contributing to anxiety is catastrophizing. [25:30] We're also losing our individuality. [26:28] There's a major lack of diversity of thought.  [35:38] It's brought back public shaming (which we did away with in the 1800's) [36:33] Can we start interacting online like we do with people offline?  [40:50] Social media is heavily influencing us and ultimately enslaving us. Social media is a tool, and all tools can be used for good or evil. It can be a tool that unites us, helps us keep up with friends and family and develop bonds and connections with people we otherwise wouldn’t have the pleasure of meeting.  But it can also be a major source of anxiety and depression, and can derail the relationships with people in our “real life”. So let’s re-evaluate our social media habits and make changes where necessary.  If we can start giving people the benefit of the doubt and treat each other with respect and dignity (like we would if we were interacting in person), we may see a shift in our interactions online.  If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, I’d love to hear about your biggest takeaway. Take a selfie of you listening or a screenshot of the show, post it to instagram stories, and tag me @parentingjunkie or feel free to DM me on instagram, I try to reply to as many as I can!Are you subscribed to my podcast? Subscribe here so that fresh episodes are delivered directly to you. Those shiny 5-star ratings and sweet reviews have me all gushy, thank you. But more importantly, they help other parents discover the Parenting Junkie Show and spread the word about Loving parenting and Parenting from Love. If you have a moment to spare, those reviews mean the world to me, you can leave one here.  Want to connect to like-minded parenting junkies? Join our (free & awesome) FB community Love Parenting with Avital.