By Sue Perbody
Social media has become a time-consuming aspect of our everyday lives, for both the good and the bad. We get to keep up with our friends and family, plus in addition, get a good laugh from that new meme circulating or a burst of motivation when an easy tutorial on how to prep pasta with zero calories in under 5 minutes pops up. With anything in life though where there are positives, there are also negatives. I believe many people like me, have at some point hit a point where social media was negatively affecting their optimism towards their environment and selves and decided to close out of the apps with an overall negative response. This is understandable, between filters, editing, and saturation, we are constantly seeing others at their best, which is not a day-to-day reality. Here are some tips that worked for me in changing my use of social media, and helped my resulting attitude to not be discouraged after a session of scrolling, liking, and commenting.
1. The Reality Check
This was the biggest adjustment I had to make, reminding myself constantly when perusing social media that it is NOT reality. When it becomes difficult to decipher, close it out and do something else.
2. Moderation, moderation, moderation!
Like all good things, limiting social media use was also a huge help in not allowing social media to begin to feel like a replacement of my reality and instead a small extension of it.
3. Don’t be afraid to take a break.
Out of sight, out of mind. Let go of that fear of missing out, and don’t be afraid to give yourself a breather by pulling the plug on the apps. Take a day, a weekend, or even a whole week with the apps removed from your phone. This can help break the habit of muscle memory opening up social media the second you unlock your phone. Your newfound free time will allow you to partake in healthier things to spend your time doing.
4. Use it as a tool, not an outlet.
Social media when used with intention, can be a very positive thing in your life. Use it for finding cool new tutorials of your favorite hobby, recipes you will add to your weekly meals, and more. I found that instead of scrolling through timelines and exploring pages and instead looking for specific subreddits, profiles or groups did wonders on how I felt after closing out the app.