The dangers of social media.
Over the last few years social media has totally transformed our lives. We have become more connected than ever and have ability to share and view any aspect of life of which someone now chooses. It influences our fashion choices, home interiors, where we stay, eat and even how we feel about ourselves. My feelings towards social platforms have always been conflicting. Whilst I agree it’s amazing to be able to connect with creatives and have access to an almost infinite stream of engaging content, I have always felt it can be incredibly damaging.
Without this becoming a lecture of how unrealistic the world of instagram is, the main point I would like to adress on is really self realisation of how your relationship with social media effect you. Does it make you feel happy and fulfilled? or does it consume you and make you feel stressed? Striking the right balance with social accounts is key. Have you ever thought about taking a few mini breaks from it? Tiny changes in your routine can end up making a massive difference. Think of it as a holiday for your mental health and wellbeing. What you feed you body is incredibly important, but so is what you feed your mind.
I feel that we are fuelling this necessity for people to see the best of what we are doing in our lives. A sense of yearning for the approval of others, and disappointment in ourselves when we don’t meet the version of us that we are trying to project to the world.
Bringing this back to food, the rise of the instagram Nutritionist and Health Coach is really quite petrifying. To me there seems to be a huge divide between influencers who are unforgiving ‘healthy’ eating activists where to thought of eating a dairy milk bar might possibly kill them. Then we have the medical professional who sneers at holistic approaches and more ‘hippy’ lifestyles. Whilst I have my beliefs and practice according to them, I respect that different things work for different people and its not up to me to laugh and say its a load of rubbish. I do however have an issue with the fact that many of these influencers are NOT trained, a 3 month nutrition course or reading a few published studies online does not make then qualified to recommend dietary advice. Often influencers attitudes towards foods are purely anecdotal, based on personal experiences which have worked for them, but are not necessarily suitable for you. Their advice can in turn fuel disordered eating behaviours and guilt stricken food patterns.
It’s important to respect the power social media can have over us and how it can in turn change our behaviours. It’s kind of like the ocean, whilst it can be full of pleasure and discovery, you must always be aware of its power. Try not to get sucked in!
Just because your breakfast isn’t a green smoothie bowl with chia seeds or you didn’t have avocado on toast with flax doesn’t mean you aren’t doing it right. We are all so diverse and different, our cultures and current lifestyles all reflect in our food choices. Being healthy doesn’t always mimic this picture perfect instagram image. What I eat in a day videos on YouTube are an absolute feat, of course, a huge congratulations for those who manage to make 3 gorgeous meals from scratch a day with around 40 ingredients all together at hand, most with a shelf life of only a few days. But if you find that is totally unachievable for you, thats ok! The stress of trying to be perfect will probably do you more harm, so relax and realise that there is health in your normality.