World Mental Health Day: Facebook features for a better mental wellbeing

Facebook earlier this week launched a new emotional health resource centre through which people can get access to services, and information. The resource centre can be used on WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram as well. On World Mental Health Day, we take a look at this new Facebook service, and other wellness features on the platform.

With the pandemic still happening we’re still quite glued to our devices, and social media is one place where everyone’s virtual together. This may however result in excessive use of social media which can affect one’s mental health. Facebook has some features that can be used to keep a check on your usage, and try to keep away from the negativity.

Time spent tools

Facebook lets you track the amount of time you spent on the app. It gives an average number of time spent using Facebook on a daily basis. You can also set a daily reminder to notify you when you reach the time set for yourself. Another option is to choose which Facebook notifications you want to receive, or mute them all.

Snooze and unfollow

This is one useful feature if you want to remain friends with someone on Facebook but don’t want to see their posts and updates. You can snooze a person for 30 days for temporary relief, or you can unfollow them to not see their posts at all. You can also snooze a Facebook page or group.

News Feed preferences

Facebook shows posts and stories based on a person’s usage of the platform. Facebook says that it shows posts which users may engage with more to help support “meaningful social interactions”. You can also customise it by going to News Feed preferences and choosing whom to see first on your home page. You can select people, pages and groups that will appear first on your News Feed.

Emotional health resource

Facebook’s emotional health resource is live in India. The company has partnered with It's OK to Talk, iCALL Psychosocial Helpline (Tata Institute of Social Sciences), and Live Love Laugh Foundation to help provide mental health helplines and resources to users.