DR. WALLACE: I've recently recognized that every time I open my social media accounts, I start to feel insecure about myself and my life. My use of social media often causes me to feel inferior to my peers for multiple reasons, and I know firsthand that constantly engaging in the act of social comparison can lead to serious problems.

All of this has me wondering if I should officially put an end to my use of social media by deleting my accounts. Sometimes I just tell myself that I'll stop visiting social media sites as often as I do, but within a few days, I usually end up reverting back to my habit of checking them any chance I get. I almost feel as though I'm a slave to social media, and the influence it can have over my mood and mental well-being is beginning to scare me. Is it time for me to call it quits and delete my accounts once and for all? — Concerned Millennial, via email

CONCERNED MILLENNIAL: While I'm not at all opposed to the idea of ridding your life of social media entirely, I think that you should consider your options before making a final decision. Without deleting your accounts, I would first recommend deleting the apps off of all of your devices so that you are not constantly tempted to open them throughout the day. Commit to completely staying off of social media for a month, and take note of what the experience is like for you.

Once that period of time elapses, think carefully about this issue. Did staying off of social media improve your mental health and the way that you feel about yourself? Did taking a social media fast allow you to devote more focus to the things in your life that matter most to you? Did you find yourself becoming more creative and productive with your time? My guess is that even though abstaining from social media use will be challenging at first, after a month, the answer to most, if not all of these questions, will be a definitive "yes."

If, after some experimentation, you find that your life without social media use is healthier and happier than your life with social media use, then really begin to consider what the purpose would be of keeping your accounts. There's nothing wrong if, after taking a break from social media, you decide to keep your accounts for the sake of logging on to them occasionally to see what's going on in other people's lives and to post some photos from your own life. But if you find that minimizing your usage is too difficult to maintain after reentering the world of social media, then take the plunge and delete your accounts for good.

There is no one "right" way to go about doing any of this, and everyone has different opinions. One thing, however, is for certain: there is nothing on social media that is worth compromising your time or your well-being.

AM I OBLIGATED TO INVITE MY FATHER?

DR. WALLACE: I'm a young lady who just turned 20 in January. I have the world's best mother, and that's a very good thing as my biological father has basically ignored me my whole life up to now. He left my mother before I was 2 years old, and although I have seen him and met him a few times as an adult, he's basically a zero to me. My brother also shares this same father. As an adult, my brother chose to interact with this man for a while, and let's just say their overall interactions didn't end well.

My father for years now has not taken any interest in my life or me at all. I'm soon to be married and my "bio dad" lives in another state 1,000 miles away. Some of my friends think it's my obligation to invite him to my wedding. Personally, I don't think he even has any idea that I'm even engaged. Do you feel that I have a moral or any other obligation to invite my loser of a father to my wedding? — The Bride-to-Be, via email

THE BRIDE TO BE: No, you do not have any moral or social obligation to invite your biological father to your wedding, in my opinion. He's made it quite clear that he didn't care much if at all about your life once he left your home, and now 18 years later you don't need to be burdened by worrying about his presence at all.

Your wedding should be one of the greatest days of your life, so place your focus there and think not one second longer about whether to invite your father. If he miraculously finds out about your wedding and travels out of state to be there, then I trust you can graciously pass yourself off well to him at that time. But we both know that's unlikely, so proceed accordingly with your wedding plans in a completely guilt-free manner.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: stevepb at Pixabay