Opinion: Exercising is great, but our minds need some TLC, too
Social media trends in the wake of COVID-19 can exacerbate mental health issues
Photo courtesy of Ashlyn Peter
By Ashlyn Peter | April 5, 2020
We’re all doing our best to navigate this moment in time, now that our daily lives have been upended by a pandemic. Our gym access has been suspended, our parks have been closed and our grocery stores are experiencing food shortages. Social media is the way for us to stay connected and boost each other’s morale, but it can also be the way that we further isolate our peers and loved ones.
My social media has become a place of “see 10 push-ups, do 10 push-ups” and healthy cooking tutorials that ward off the “quarantine 15”—because, in a time of mass isolation, social media would have me believe that my main priority should be combatting weight gain instead of situational depression.
The combination of isolation and an abundance of free time can prove dangerous for college students. We have to be kind to our bodies, not by toning them up but by loving them as they are. Body positivity could not be more crucial as we have more time to dissect ourselves in the mirror and scroll through the social media of those only advocating for physical health.
None of the Instagram story challenges have addressed mental health yet, and this has resulted in a gross unbalance of priorities. The focus on our bodies promotes fatphobia and stokes feelings of body dysmorphia for some, potentially leading to general feelings of inadequacy. Our goal right now should not be to count how many crunches we can do, but to ensure that we’re making everyone feel included in our social media messaging.
Making our friends and family members with physical disabilities, body dysmorphia and depression feel that physical challenges are the only way to stay socially connected can be an unintended effect of our Instagram stories. I haven’t gained anything from watching my friends do push-ups, but I have felt lighter when I see someone across the country share a video of bird sounds from the forest in their backyard. I’ve felt inspired to create something when I see the finished product of a friend’s painting session. I feel like I’m not alone when friends show that they’re struggling, too.
That’s not to say that people can’t be inspired by workout videos. However, those videos should be balanced by ones that encourage us to take care of our mental health. Make these physical challenges an opt-in experience. Ask your friends if they want to form a virtual workout group, and you can all communicate directly with each other via the “Close Friends” setting on Instagram or a video chat platform. This could actually prove to be more inspiring for people since there’s more direct contact to support the idea of accountability. It would ensure that those who would feel an unhealthy pressure from the sole focus on physical health don’t have to consume those emotions.
When it comes down to it, our mental health will not be at its best if we don’t feel well physically—we need to optimize all areas of our health, especially when the health of our nation is in such jeopardy. We need to feel well physically and mentally if we’re ever going to hope to be truly productive in our online classes, internships and jobs. However, if we’re going to use our social media to talk about our physical health, then we owe the same levity to our mental wellbeing—we can’t be truly healthy if we don’t do both. We need to stop the “quarantine 15” jokes and memes and be honest with each other about our health fears. We need to create a space for virtual solidarity so that we don’t feel alone with our anxieties.
Let’s try out TikTok dance challenges that are both physically engaging and fun to laugh with each other about, and let’s check in with ourselves and our loved ones. Social media is meant to connect us, and it is our greatest tool in a time of mass isolation—let’s make it a space wherein everyone feels nourished and seen.
Ashlyn Peter is a senior in the School of Communication and an opinion columnist for The Eagle. To submit a comment or op-ed, click this link or email opinion@theeagleonline.com.