How social media use can harm journalists' mental health - Entrepreneur Generations

Most journalists check social media frequently throughout the day to stay in the loop on the news of the day (and post their own stories, of course). But it's not often discussed how social media use can cause mental health problems for journalists.

"Social media have long been hotbeds of misinformation and targeted harassment of journalists, both of which can lead to fatigue and even burnout," Kyle Bessey reports for Journalism.co.uk. "Amongst key challenges are work performance stress, maintaining work-life balance, pressure to have a non-biased social media presence, avoiding comments from trolls, legal worries, pressure to get the scoop and ethical considerations."

All that can lead to depression and burnout, according to psychologist Jelena Kecmanovic. "All of us face competition and pressure to excel at work. Journalists, however, are receiving almost constant live feedback about how they are doing based on the number of clicks their posts are getting and number of followers they have," Kecmanovic told Bessey. "Their social comparisons are directly related to their jobs, career success, or livelihoods. All the psychological negative effects of social media like envy, depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem are thus likely to be higher for journalists."

Simply being aware that binge-scrolling is detrimental to one's health is a good place for journalists to start, according to editor and journalist John Crowley.

Freelance journalist Philip Eil told Bessey that journalists should put personal boundaries in place like, for example, deleting social media apps from one's phone and only checking them from a desktop. "He also suggested cultivating a non-social media life and enjoying offline activities to build resilience and a support network that journalists can rely on when their feeds turn nasty," Bessey reports.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2Gub5W6 How social media use can harm journalists' mental health - Entrepreneur Generations

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