Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, recently made headlines talking about “the age of anxiety.” He explained his belief that many professional basketball players are unhappy despite their wealth and fame:
I think we live a bit in the age of anxiety. I’ve read studies on this. I think part of it is a direct product of social media. I think those players we’re talking about, what strikes me when I meet them, they’re truly unhappy. This is not some show they’re putting on … a lot of these young men are genuinely unhappy.
While it may be hard to fathom sports stars suffering from anxiety and unhappiness just like you or me, it is certainly true that we are living in an “age of anxiety.” Many believe the reason for these sports stars’ anxiety is the fact that they are subject to constant scrutiny and criticism through social media and in the press. When they see criticisms—whether justified or not—they take notice.
Are we allowing ourselves to be overcome with anxiety and unhappiness by taking in the criticisms around us? We may interpret messages that are not directed at us—for example, when someone posts a picture of themselves in a new outfit, or a highly edited photo made to look good—as a statement that they are better than us, leading to thoughts that we are not good enough. We are ultimately the gatekeeper of our minds—we are in charge of our thinking.
With so many influences all around us, our thoughts can lead to comparisons and feelings of insecurity and anxiety unless we know how to manage our minds and carefully decide what we believe. If we find these kinds of thoughts are plaguing us, one option is to simply “turn off” the voices around us by taking a break from social media for a certain time period. Many teens are going on “social media fasts” or deleting social media apps altogether. See how you feel if you take a one-week break from Instagram or Snapchat. Do you feel better about yourself and less prone to anxious feelings?
