Is Social Media Stress Affecting Gen Z’s Heart and Mental Health?

Is social media secretly affecting Gen Z’s heart and mental health? Let’s know how scrolling, FOMO, and online stress are impacting young lives and you can tackle these problems naturally without depending on any therapies or medicines.

Gen Z lives its life in the world of social media. Young people spend hours a day online on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube. Although these sites allow them to remain in touch, exchange experiences, and talk, studies have revealed that social media pressures are taking a toll on their mental and physical well-being. It is becoming common among this generation with anxiety, depression, heart palpitations and sleeping problems. Here’s what you need to know.

How Does Social Media Affect Your Heart: EXPLAINED

Excessive social media use may lead to stress, which has a direct effect on the state of the heart. Continuous warnings, the necessity to keep up, and endless scrolling of feeds may place the organism in a fight or flight mode. This is a cardiac stress reaction, which increases heart rate and blood pressure. Other Gen Z users complain of palpitations or a racing heart after spending hours on social media platforms, particularly at night.

Social Media Impacts On Mental Health

Social media has several implications for mental health. Viewed posts that are curated and perfect can lead the youth to feel inadequate or excluded. The idea of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is a fact of life, which causes anxiety and obsessive checking on apps. There is also research that associates the increased use of social media with increased levels of depression, low self-esteem and even burnout. It is the strain of having to get likes, followers, or positive remarks, which has become a cycle that is difficult to break.

Feeling Lonely Despite Having Friends: Ironically, being on the Internet all the time, many Gen Z have become lonely. Internet friends and communication cannot easily substitute real-life ties, and this leaves a gap in emotional support. Using more time scrolling than talking to one another can isolate a person. This paradox of loneliness demonstrates that being digitally connected does not necessarily imply being emotionally connected.

Why Gen Z Is More Vulnerable?

Gen Z has been brought up with social media and smartphones. They hardly lived their lives without digital interaction, as in the past generations. This is because they are more susceptible to online stress due to this constant connectivity. Cyberbullying, negative remarks and unrealistic beauty or lifestyle expectations are also considered vulnerability factors. Unless controlled, these stressors, experts caution, might have long-term consequence on mental and physical health.

How To Reduce Social Media Stress

Make daily restrictions: Apply app timers or screen time.
Take breaks: Plan offline time to hobbies, exercise or relaxation.
Make real-life relationships a priority: Have more face-to-face time with relatives and friends.
Clean up your feed: Unfollow posts that demoralise, teach, or please you.
Get assistance: When stress or anxiety is too much, a counsellor or therapist can be of assistance.

Gen Z should responsibly use social media, although it is not inherently bad. The consciousness, restraint, and moderation of life in both online and physical senses will save the mind and heart. Young people can experience the positive aspects of social media without experiencing the drawbacks in terms of stress or health issues by establishing limits, prioritising the real world, and engaging in digital wellness.