Does Social Media influence our Dreams?

Social media has become part of our daily routine. It has become an inevitable part of our daily lives and has an influence on our waking state, but does it also influence our dreaming state?

As we already discussed, we are the architects of our dreams. Dreams are a projection of our phenomenal field, meaning, everything that is relevant or related to us. This also includes thoughts and events which are figural and meaningful to us and somehow left an impact on us.

Generally, we dream of elements that have caught our attention throughout the day. These elements are then used to aid in the construction of the content of the dream. You've probably noticed how we randomly see faces of people we know in dreams, or things we've interacted with during the day such as a specific kind of car or colour. These elements don't really add meaning to the dream, rather, they add content which aid in the construction of the dream.

So can this content be influenced by social media?

Strictly speaking, yes.

There's no study to prove this, yet. However, most of the information, pictures & people we see on social media are directly related to us. While scrolling through our social media platforms we surround ourselves with information that is relevant to us. We 'like' things that match our taste, we 'follow' articles and information which is relevant to us and we see photos and updates of people who we know. We digest this information because we like it and want it.

      Ever heard the phrase "You are what you eat"?

Well, you also dream what you eat. Since social media has become part of our daily lives, our phenomenal field has expanded drastically. We are no longer simply worried or interested in what surrounds us, but also what is worrying and interesting to others. We see other people's interactions, emotions, tragedies and bliss on social media and whether we like it or not we reciprocate a feeling or thought towards that information.

While I will not enter into the damage & problems social media is bringing with it in this post. It's important to understand how it can also have an effect on our dreaming state. Your mind is being blasted with information that can be translated into your dreams. This doesn't necessarily mean that it will interfere with the content of your dream, rather it could interfere with the characters present in your dream. BUT if for example, we read about a tragedy that happened and this had an impact on us during the day it is quite likely that this theme might pop up in your dreams. Especially with all the photos and videos which we are exposed to today. It makes us feel, empathize and experience with the situation and that can have a direct influence on us.

Does this mean social media is taking over our dreams?

NO, however, it would be wise to detach yourself from social media before going to sleep. Dreams can be very beneficial to us and our psyche. They are a self-regulating system of our psyche and it would be a wasted system if it is filled with information that distracts us rather than helps us.