5 Tips for Checking on Your Social Media Health by Gabrielle Ferrara, LCSW

Updated: May 5, 2023

Let's face it - social media is a huge part of our lives these days. And social media can definitely have its benefits - it can help us feel connected, it can be educational, and it can provide us with resources that we may not have found otherwise.

However, social media can also be harmful to our overall mental health. Check out these 5 tips for checking on your social media health:

Reflect: How does scrolling make you feel during/afterward? Empowered? Sad? Inferior?
Consider: Do you need to do a cleanse of who you follow? It’s OK to unfollow accounts that no longer align with your values.
Be honest: How much time are you spending on social media? Is it taking away from real-life interactions?
Be intentional: What are your goals/intentions with using social media? Do you need to readjust them?
Be gentle: Remember that social media is a highlight reel for many. It is easy to compare, but these comparisons do not determine your worth.

Gabrielle Ferrara, LCSW | Lukin Center, Bergen County Moms

Gabrielle Ferrara, LCSW is a Licensed Social Worker at Lukin Center for Psychotherapy, specializing in eating disorders, OCD, and life transitions. Gabrielle completed training in Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP) for OCD and also incorporates elements of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into work with clients. In her treatment of eating disorders, Gabrielle uses an intuitive eating approach and is HAES-aligned.

Gabrielle Ferrara, MSW, LSW earned her B.A. from the University of Miami where she majored in Psychology and Criminology and then went on to attend Rutgers University, where she earned her Master of Social Work degree with a clinical focus. During her graduate studies, Gabrielle gained experience working with children, adolescents, and adults in a partial-hospitalization/intensive-outpatient program. Since graduation, Gabrielle has continued to grow her clinical skills through work at an intensive outpatient program and in private practice. Gabrielle has experience providing individual and group therapy, and she typically sees adolescents and adults. Gabrielle is an advocate for all-things mental health and compliments her direct clinical work in different ways, such as her involvement with the National Alliance for Eating Disorders, where she is a support group facilitator. Gabrielle has been featured as a guest on mental health podcasts and is a TEDx speaker. She has also had writing published on The Mighty and Psychology Today. Gabrielle uses a person-centered approach to therapy and believes that empathy, compassion, and humor can go a long way in helping clients heal and grow. She encourages clients to identify their values and use these values as motivation to face their fears head-on, while continuously celebrating all “wins” – big or small.