Scrolling, liking, tapping, swiping – social media is all around us and shows no signs of slowing down.

We’re Snapchatting our besties and sliding into our crushes DM’s

A subtle like to let him know you’re keen – or a straight up block, social media comes with its own set of unwritten rules and no one is quite sure what they are.

How Social Media Affects Our Mood

But how is this affecting our mood?

Stop tweeting about your hangover and how much you’re craving a Chinese takeaway, girl. We’ve got some investigating to do!

Dare To Compare

People tend to put their best self on social media and the results are aesthetically pleasing, face-tuned and filtered to perfection.

Comparing how well we are doing to others takes away from your own happiness. It’s easy to convince yourself everyone is doing better than you but newsflash babes: they really aren’t. It’s easy to present an online version of yourself which hugely differs from your every day – have you never watched Catfish?!

Be aware of how much time you spend online on other peoples profiles and minimise it. Taking time away from it will improve your mood and decrease your feelings of self-doubt.

You’re doing just fine as you are.

Connect & Protect

Because we see so much of our friends and family online it’s easy to forget we actually need to get up and arrange to spend time with them in person.

This can help remind you that they are real people with real problems and not just their online persona. Plus you can have cocktails. Win.

Real human connection = instant mood lift.

Real Memories

Of course you want to capture the perfect picture of your cocktail as you lay on the beach #nevercominghome

But it’s important to stay in the moment and really take in your surroundings.

Don’t spend your time taking and filtering photos. Enjoy the moment, take it in and enjoy.

Otherwise, all your memories will be of your iPhone. Which is not iDeal.

Sleeping Beauty

It’s been proven that scrolling through your social media before bed can seriously affect your sleep.

Getting anxious or envious while scrolling puts our brains on high alert and will lead to a restless night. Also, the light from your phone can keep your brain awake when its time to snooze.

Put it away and get your beauty sleep. Make a rule of not going on your phone for at least 30 minutes before bedtime.

Mental Cleanse

Recent studies suggest that overuse of social media can seriously affect our levels of anxiety and even lead to depression. If you feel like its bringing you down make sure you allocate periods where you have a social media timeout. Even a slight reduction could have a major effect on your wellbeing.

Social media can affect your attention span as information is so easily available that people can become distracted easily. It’s important to be aware of this and make the necessary changes.

It’s time to seize your life back!