Fire Pit: Are you a ‘constant checker’?

Andrew Herzog, host of "The Bonfire" on TheBlaze Radio Network, explains how social media can contribute to America's rising stress levels:

The latest social media study says Americans are more stressed than ever before.

The American Psychological Association claims the US political climate plays a major role in the stress, but the study continues with social media and its effect on us. Apparently 90% of people aged 18-29 use some social media, and those who "constantly check" their accounts are more stressed than those who don’t constantly check their accounts. Nearly 42% of the "constant checkers" in the study say a political or cultural discussion brought about the stress.

So what’s the lesson here?

Basically, unplug and avoid more online political arguments.

There is a time and a place for deep political and cultural debates. But it isn’t all day, every day, everywhere you go; that’s what social media has enabled. Easily opening Twitter or Facebook on your phone exposes you to angry diatribes from both sides, and everyone becomes further entrenched in their beliefs. Are we actually converting anyone online? I doubt it.

Furthermore, the "constant checking" is destroying our attention spans and focus. I was guilty of that before I deleted social media from my phone. I had this annoying hum in my head, always prompting me to check all my accounts for updates or likes or shares. That was very draining, not to mention rude to the people around me. I was never enjoying the moment, but rather distressing over my lack of "likes," or thinking ahead for some picture or personal opinion to throw into the void. The key here is accessibility. I’ve kept most of my social media accounts, but kept them strictly to the desktop; no more phone. You could just delete all of your social media too, and I might do that myself one day, but for now my system seems to be working.

Bonfire encourages everyone to check their social media accounts less often and avoid online political debates. That will probably lower your stress.

It certainly did for me.

Listen to more episodes of “The Bonfire” with Andrew Herzog at TheBlaze Contributors.