Navigating social media can be tricky. Social media can be beneficial in so many ways to help us learn and grow, but it also can have such a negative effect we might not even realize. There are 2 main problems with social media that I can see that cause it to become this negative influence :
1- Comparing our lives to others who seem to have the perfect life & make us believe they have it all together.
2- We spend a ridiculous amount of time staring at this tiny screen.
I’ve seen people in my own life struggle with coping with social media in a healthy way. I will be the first to tell you the night and day difference it makes when you have a positive influence from social media versus a negative. If you’re the kind of person who deletes and reposts something because you didn’t get enough likes or if you are constantly tracking who is following and unfollowing you, THESE ARE BAD HABITS. You are relying too much on what others think & I truly believe a nice break from social media will help you get you mind right.
My first tip would be to hit the unfollow button for ANYONE who hurts your self worth or self esteem. Friends, family members, co-workers you name it. If it makes you question yourself or frankly it just irritates you, just unfollow them. You don’t owe anyone anything and there are no rules when it comes to social media & compromising your mental health for something so insignificant. Social media is exactly that media, media that you are choosing to consume. Do not consume the bad media. Get rid of it.
Instead, replace some of these negative influences with positive accounts. A few of my favorite things to see on my timeline are posts from @createthelove with Mark Groves – he talks about healthy relationships & so much more. Another for healthy relationships is @mindfulmft. Overall happy/inspirations @thegoodquote. Funny @memes.com.
TIME – it’s something that we cannot replicate or create more of. We can’t stop it we can’t get it back. Our time is precious yet we waste a lot of it scrolling.
The first thing I’ve done recently to work on this issue is place my apps all in one folder so they’re not easily accessible & they’re not the first thing I see to click on.
Apple has also launched an update on the iPhone X that allows you to set a limit on your screen time for the day and once you reach your limits if you click on one of these social apps it brings you to a screen that says you’ve reached you daily limit. It does give you the option to ignore it for 15 minutes or simply ignore for the rest of the day if it’s something urgent.
The next thing I did which I would HIGLY recommend to everyone is to start with a social media fast/cleanse. Whatever you call it, take 1 week off from social media ALL OF IT. After doing so I never realized exactly how much of my time I was wasting on it & how much more productive I was without it. So try it out! Give yourself a reality check, become the person who has more time to get more stuff done. Reach for your goals. Prioritize better. I know once you’re done you’ll feel so much better and you’ll have a new appreciation for putting your phone down and being present in your life.
THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember is that NOBODY is posting their struggles or their bad days. Everyone posts the happy joyus moments in their lives. Looking at my own instagram posts I know my life doesn’t look like that (I have worries and stresses and bad days but we don’t always see both sides) and comparing that little piece to someone else’s little piece is insanity.
Xx, Kennah
mckennahbybee.com 