I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; I am a self-proclaimed social media addict. I am often shocked and appalled when I look at the amount of time I’ve spent on my phone, and realise I really need to cut down – but it’s just too accessible. It’s extremely easy to start to pull comparisons when looking at the snapshot of other people’s ‘lives’ we see on Instagram – but as Sam and Charlie remind us in their new Anti Social, Social Media podcast – we’ve got to remember that what we see is just their ‘best-bits’, it’s a highlight reel – and it certainly doesn’t reflect every aspect of their real, offline lives.
These comparisons can be extremely damaging to our mental health, believing that everyone is out there living their best lives while you’re home alone, endlessly scrolling. It’s very easy to fall into a trap of feeling jealous, inadequate, and alone. This is why I can’t recommend this podcast enough. Charlie and Sam speak candidly about their own use of social media, and their experiences with both the positive and negative effects of being online. The chats are relatable and entertaining, but also carry an important message. The podcast makes you question your own use of social media, and how you can prevent the negative effects of your online life. The presenting duo have also had some great special guests, including Grace Davies from the X-Factor who opened up about struggles with body image and the aftercare of reality TV, and the most recent episode features Eyal from Love Island who speaks about his experience as an “influencer” and how we can use social media positively to help save the world.
Sam told me why he and Charlie decided to start this podcast:
I know the culture of social media is only going to grow and that this is the way the world is now, but we’ve decided to create this podcast to lift the lid on the “influencer” culture and help people understand that it is just smoke and mirrors, and even the people who look like they’re living the best life imaginable on Instagram are going through the same struggles we are
I’ve seen so many of my friends and family members become addicted to their phones and it has definitely had a negative impact on their mental health. I hope that our podcast will help people realise that we are in control of what we look at online, what we compare ourselves to, and how much of the online world we let into our lives. I hope the stories from the guests involved with the series can resonate with people, and they can have a bit of a laugh about how unreal our online “reality” actually is
This is an important message to understand and digest, and when we start to think that even the influencers we see living these ‘dream lives’ on the gram are facing their own battles and struggles – it certainly takes the edge off the FOMO.
We highly recommend you give this a listen, and remember to take care of yourself online. If it’s all getting too much, take a step back from the socials and give yourself a chance to reset.
The Anti Social, Social Media podcast is released every Tuesday. Listen online to the podcast here , on Spotify, or download on iTunes.
Follow @assmpodcast , @hicharliepowell and @samd_official on Instagram – (but don’t get too caught up in it).
