is it possible to have a healthy relationship with media?

I constantly find myself on media for no particular reason. Whether it is Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, listening to music researching information for school, I feel like I am always connected to a screen. I don’t know why but I feel like I constantly need to be connected to these apps. They appeal to our various needs so we continue coming back, and they make a profit from our addiction. Through our needs for affiliation, autonomy, to dominate and prominence, media provides an answer to all of these needs. When we want affiliation, we can post a picture or tweet something and see the likes and comments roll in. When we want autonomy, we can post about how amazing our life is, having so many opportunities and items, so we can single ourselves from others. When we want to dominate, we can compare likes, followers and comments to others to prove we are better than our peers. When we want prominence, we can post our best features about ourselves and our lives to be admired and respected by others. With all of these opportunities to help our needs, I think of how toxic this thinking is. Social media reels us in, making us vulnerable until we hit delete. When we are constantly comparing our lives to others, I wonder if it is ever possible to have a healthy relationship with media if you go on social media wanting your needs fulfilled. This behavior becomes incredibly toxic and can lead to image issues and self-esteem problems, making others less confident with who they are.

However, I believe there is a chance for change. Many social media influencers carry extremely powerful messages to followers. For example, some accounts which many people I know follow are feminist related accounts. Rather than making people want to compare themselves to others, these accounts lift women and men up with powerful images and captions. There are also many other accounts which promote social issues which need to be addressed. However, I don’t think these accounts alone can solve the ongoing problem of an unhealthy relationship with media as there are so many other influences which promote heavy usage of these apps. I believe that until the way that the majority of society uses social media, the only real way to have a completely healthy relationship with media is to hit delete.