Social Media. Merriam Webster defines the word social as “of or relating to human society, the interaction of the individual and the group, or the welfare of human beings as members of society”. I’ve been wondering how something we define as interaction and welfare sometimes strays so far from that. We think of social media as something that connects us – allows us to keep up with friends that don’t live close or follow our favorite celebrities to see what they are up to. But in so many cases, it’s become a place to hide behind a screen and judge others, spread hate – just plain ole be mean to people.
But it’s important to remember that you, as a human – you are in control of yourself. Let me say that again.
You are in control of yourself.
You can control:
- Who you follow
- What you read
- What you comment or more importantly,
- HOW you comment
- You can control the thoughts you have about other people’s posts, too
And finally:
- You can control the time you spend on social media
I teach social media – but let me tell you – getting off of that thing you hold in your hand all day is occasionally good. Believe it or not. And probably good for your family and friends too. They are tired of looking at the top of your head.
Tips for Social Media control
- Unfollow. Do you follow someone that makes you feel less than? Who you compare your own posts, feeds, body, hair, pictures… LIFE to – and you end up not feeling great about yourself? It’s ok to unfollow.
- Don’t comment. Often times you see a post that you don’t agree with. That might make you mad. It’s ok to keep scrolling. Not everyone wants your opinion or even your truths, especially if you are adding them in a way that is disrespectful.
- Spread some positivity. Don’t you feel good when someone makes a comment on your post that makes you feel good? Return the favor. Give someone a boost. I guarantee it’ll make you feel good too!
- Schedule it. Do you lose track of time when you’re on Instagram? Realize you’ve wandered down a rabbit hole as you click through articles on Facebook? Try scheduling your time on social media. And I don’t just mean when, schedule the amount of time you spend as well. Set a timer and when it goes off, STOP. Then go paint something. Or have a conversation with someone you love.
- Try a hiatus. My family schedules T.F.D.’s. Technology-free days. We turn off our phones, intentionally don’t watch TV or spend time on the computer. We go outside, play games and connect IRL (in real life for those of you without teenagers).