are too busy to notice.You say M for Media : I say M for Mental HealthWhy is it all about Social media?! We all know that the world has a reached a stage where social media plays an important role in every sphere of life. From Facebook, Instagram, snap chat, twitter, messengers, Whatsapp to buying your clothes, grocery, sometimes books and even your lingerie online. There was a time when people had to walk a mile to get to the market because they had no source of transport and had to hit the streets to meet their daily needs. Now we have reached a point where we can do everything at a click of a button. Social media has been very efficient and powerful in communication, publicity, awareness etc. Social media has it’s pros but it has its cons too. Let’s not forget everything invented or created will have its uses and misuses, but in the end it’s up to us to decide which side to sail on. The reason why this is important is to make one realize the value of life, our time and our people. It’s for all the people from children to adolescents, from young adults to the old ones. Anyone who needs to know where we have landed and what are we heading towards? The youth today wakes up to Whatsapps, they have forgotten how to say good morning to their parents. They wake up checking their mobiles phones , none of the kids open their curtains to see the sunlight, to see its morning, see the clock to get going , instead, all they can see is the time on their phone and how much more time they have to make it to school or their respective work places. They can reply to all the people who texted them back at night , they will say good morning to their friends but they have no time to thank god for giving them another beautiful day which they are just about to conquer or for that matter even wish their own parents a good morning. The value of a human being is diminishing, the value of life is diminishing. It’s all slowly being replaced by devices. Let’s take an example, When adults now go out at social gatherings have you seen them mingle with people? Do they try to get to know more new people? Or are they always glued to their phones? I think it’s the latter where truth resides. This is our generation next. Engrossed into their mobile devices like that’s the only thing they have got or is the only thing they want. You will say yes we all have become that way because it’s just simpler that way, all our work can be handled through a phone now a days and isn’t that great we are saving so much more time! Are we really saving time? Saving time for what? Are we then spending that same amount of time with our loved ones? Yes, social media devices were invented for that very purpose to make peoples lives simpler and not to complicate human relations. Lets take another example, A girl and a boy now in love exchange emoticons, they don’t have the time to meet for coffee and share their days with each other. In such a fast moving world no one has the time for any other individual’s emotions or needs everyone is running their own life, crawling or walking at their own pace and meeting their deadlines. We have come into a world full of competition, because if I won’t show up at office today someone else will get an opportunity that I will miss out on. So I better not risk or take a leave. That fear or anxiety has crippled the minds of many now a days. There are people who take leaves from work because they have some other work to finish, but when it comes to taking a leave for a family outing or just spending time with our loves ones we think ten times why? Because we are all humans and we are selfish, we do what we feel is right for us. We don’t think about how we are missing out on the all the times with our family or friends, we know they are not going anywhere, that’s our problem. But it’s time we realize people will leave and some will change. Don’t wait for that day to make time for each other when you can actually do it now. Be dedicated to the work you do but not at the cost of your relations, mental health and peace. Now a days, Children see each other at school, tiny toddlers walk into school with heavy bags, and their bags are as heavy as their little minds are. One child tells the other of how his/ her parents have bought them an iPhone. The other child instantly gets a thought of how he/ she should also have one. Children are being peer pressured, some are being ragged, and some are being bullied. Every child at school is going through a different struggle every day. Some children have loads of money and still crave parental attention. Some children get loads of parental attention and that becomes their problem. Hence, it’s all about striking a balance. The current scenario is a new challenge, and I don’t say this just out of opinions, but I say this out of naturalistic observations every day at schools and the people who come to me with varied issues at the clinic. While commuting people are again on their devices, we of course don’t want to have a conversation with a stranger that is so risky a thing to do. What if the person is a thief? What if the person is not a nice human being? All our “what ifs” have just left us with our devices and nothing else. I see people on roads have their mobile phones like its etched to their hearts and is an extension to their hands like it’s another human organ now. On the other hand, Human value is decreasing day by day. We want to go for trips but we don’t want to see natural surroundings, meet people, have the best of the food, relish these little things .We now want to go for trips to show the world, we want to instantly upload a picture of where we are, what are we doing, what are we wearing, what are we thinking, and in the midst of all this what we are exactly feeling is lost. Why?? Why has social media become so powerful that watching a movie with a friend, having ice-creams with your loves ones, Going for an outing with your family, just sitting by the sea become a big deal? Why is there a constant need for approval from people? Why can’t we still do all this and keep it to ourselves? And there we all fall into a circle of social media, called the society. I don’t defy society in fact I am a firm believer. I feel it is very important for the holistic development of a child to form into a well-functioning adult. But if we are always going to be tied up with checking what each one is doing or busy putting our own little happenings of life then when are we going to create something new? Or come up with anything big ever? Are we going to just sit back wait relax and watch others do their things and increase their likes? I hit like today on face-book that means I approve of what you are doing, I did not hit like tomorrow to your post and I see you get offended. This is what it has come down to. Appreciating the little things one used to do is all a blur. I spent my entire day with you on your birthday, but I did not put up a birthday post on Instagram for you. So what? Why is social media the cause of happiness for some people? Do people now have nothing more to be happy about?It’s time for us to set our priorities, to know where we are heading and what are we going to eventually become. So that it helps us and also helps the generations to come. Why have people become so vulnerable? , why do they have such a low tolerance level? From A full family committing suicide to a girl jumping off a building because the guy refused to date her anymore. Why have people lost the confidence they should have? Why are they so Dependent on other people, things, devices for approval or happiness? Let’s take an example of the food we eat, while we are eating, we also text and we also watch TV. So what are we actually doing? We are always multitasking, it’s a good thing that people can finish so much work through multitasking in an allotted time but something like eating? Well, what just happened here is you could not enjoy your favorite TV show as you were texting someone and eating. You could not talk to the person with all your attention as you were busy watching your show and eating. And finally you could not even eat properly without realizing what kind of food is going in your stomach. While we eat we should realize every molecule that goes in our body, take time to chew and be happy with the food we just ate. We don’t realize how we add up to our mental baggage’s each day until one day it bursts. This is where the problem lies.As we welcome the mental health week (8th to 15th October), let’s talk about how all of this is affecting our mental health and our relationships. So without being a hypocrite I would say yes I myself was into all of these habits until I started working as a professional in the field of psychology. With time you realize what you are actually doing, there is something called as being mindful about each and every action you take and each and everything that you do. I exactly did that. I became aware of the presence of all the things around me, from my mother having a conversation with me to a fan that’s moving. And the day I realized what mindfulness can do, I did not want to function in any other way. Yes I have friends and colleagues who upload more pictures than I do, yes I see them appreciate them and like them too but I have now struck a balance for myself. As someone’s rightly said too much of anything is not good. And it’s never too late to implement anything good in our lives. So let’s all take two minutes off and just think about it when was the last time we saw a beautiful sunset? The last time we greeted morning to a family member? The last time we did anything without any social media devices around us? As important social media is as a tool for development it can also be very consuming for some people. Get out of it before it takes you in completely. So, Go take a walk, have a conversation with an oldie, see birds chirp, feel your environment, look at the sky, smell freshly watered plants, hear good music. Put all your senses to its correct use. And only when you make the change everything else around you starts changing. -Alisha Shail(Clinical Psychologist & Counselor