Featured Article
International Day of Happiness
Written by Leigh Spencer, Improving Lives Volunteer and Mental Health Advocate
International Day of Happiness takes place on the 20th of March every year. It was established on 28th June 2012 by the United Nations General Assembly. The Assembly resolution is A/RES/66/281 and reads as follows:
“The General Assembly, Conscious that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal, Recognizing also the need for a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, happiness and the well-being of all peoples, Decides to proclaim 20 March the International Day of Happiness, Invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to observe the International Day of Happiness in an appropriate manner, including through education and public awareness-raising activities.”
It was first celebrated in 2013. Most years have a theme; this year’s is Social Media and Happiness. Social media plays a huge role in everyday life, sometimes it can be positive, other times negative. Some love it, others don’t and some find they have to use it even if they don’t want to. The aim of using social media is to find the right balance. What is important when using social media is that you find happiness using it and aren’t filled with a lot of negative emotions when doing so.
The Negatives of Social Media
Before focusing on ways using social media in a positive way, let us briefly take a look at some ways how it can affect you negatively.
You find yourself comparing your life to others and can start believing your life isn’t as exciting, rewarding or fulfilling as theirs. You may even start comparing your job and relationships to them and find yours wanting.
By sharing your innermost thoughts and countless selfies it can lead to creating a person that is self-centred and appears to be distant from real-life connections. You can come across as self-absorbed which isn’t a healthy state of mind.
It can control your life even when you are working. Whenever you have a moment you find yourself checking your social media on your smart phone, your computer, this can be when using public transport, at work, shopping or participating in leisure activities. Even when you are around others you have the need to check it. This can lead to afear of missing out – FOMO, if you haven’t checked your social media for awhile then you worry about what you have missed.
Social media can cause or worsen depression and anxiety if you are only in contact with others. It is far better to have face to face contact with someone even if it is over Teams or Zoom rather than only message them directly or read their messages. We do need face to face contact with other humans for our mental wellbeing.
How Social Media Can Aid Our Happiness
Now let us look at some ways we can have a healthier relationship with social media and put our happiness first.
Follow positive accounts, don’t doom scroll and find accounts that are full of negative content. Instead look for ones that offer quality content that can keep you informed, for example your local public transport provider will have a social media site that will provide up to date information. If you are interested in animals or art or a particular singer, look for sites that are connected to those interests.
When commenting, be kind and take a moment to think about what you are writing. How would you react to your comment if it was from someone else?
Before posting be mindful about what you are going to post. What do you want the world to know about you? Your tastes, likes and dislikes and views won’t be to everyone’s taste and you may receive some negative comments. If you are someone who can cope with that, then you can be more relaxed about what you are going to post, if not before posting take a moment to think about what you are about to say and keep your posts neutral. Be aware of what you are posting and be careful about posting misinformation.
Look for positive things to post about. For example you went out for a walk, visited a pond and on the pond there was a duck and her ducklings so you took a picture and then shared it on your social media. Or you’ve read an uplifting story that made you feel good so you thought it would help others.
Take care about how much time you spend on social media and how many social media platforms you subscribe to. Maybe try a few out and see which ones fit your values and interests. If you find it is just one then stick to it and allot yourself a daily or weekly amount of time you spend on it. If it is more than one, the same thing applies, what is important is that they aren’t taking up all of your time. It is recommended that you don’t spend more than two hours a day on social media, if you can break it up into thirty minute segments and don’t look at it first thing in the morning or last thing at night. For a more in-depth look at how much time to spend on social media, the article on the Very Well Mind website called ‘Is There a 'Healthy' Amount of Time to Spend on Social Media?’ has some extremely helpful information.
Social media can help you maintain friendships and stay connected to family. As life moves on you may find that your close friends or family move away, or you move. It can also be helpful if your partner or you work away from home for periods of time. Social media can be beneficial in maintaining those connections. At the same time you may join a group where you find yourself messaging one or two of the group and developing friendships.
For those with various medical conditions it can also provide support which you might not be able to access otherwise. However it is still important to monitor how much time you spend on social media so that it doesn’t cause you any more issues.
It is worth considering not accessing social media on your phone. Some apps will work on both your phone and on your computer. An example of this is WhatsApp. By limiting your usage of WhatsApp to your computer you won’t have it so readily available and therefore limit your usage allowing you to do more interacting in person and thereby assisting your happiness.
Balance your social media time with offline activities. This also includes taking time away from both your computer and your phone. Meet up with friends’ in-person, spend time in nature, do some cooking or read a book for example. Whatever you choose to do will give you both a break from social media and computer/phone screen time, which is beneficial to your health.
Social media can be fun and make us happy. What we all need is to be aware of is how much time it can take out of our lives if we allow it to do so. Look for the positives on social media and use it to help you, but don’t let it rule your life. It is possible to have both a happy offline and online life; it is just a matter of finding the balance that works for you.