Social Media and Self Care
Do you ever feel burnt out after looking at your social media pages? Do you ever scroll for hours on end and forget what you were supposed to be doing instead? Social media is a great tool for connection, education, and so many other supportive aspects. However, it can also be a reason we’re so burnt out. Social media, like anything else in our lives, needs a balance. Here are some tips to help us find this balance and be more mindful about our online presence.
Be Mindful About The Pages You Follow
If you find yourself becoming angry or anxious after reading certain articles, step away from those pages. If following certain news sites triggers anxiety, maybe unfollow that page. If following a certain Facebook group always pulls you into online arguments, it might be a good idea to leave that group. Only follow and interact with pages that make you feel good and that support your values.
2. Limit Your Screen Time
Too much screen time is never a good thing. While it has many negative health effects, it can also be damaging to our mental health. If you ever find yourself scrolling through Instagram and find that you’re comparing your life with someone else’s or scrolling through LinkedIn and feeling a little jealous of your co-worker’s promotion, take a step back and turn off your phone. Constantly seeing other people’s lives inevitably ends up with us judging ourselves and comparing what we have or don’t have with other people. Reduce your own burnout by decreasing the number of posts you see in a day.
3. Clean Your Phone
Do you have social media apps on your phone that you never check? An old Facebook page? A long forgotten twitter account? If you’re not actively using these accounts, delete them from your phone! You don’t have to delete the account if you want to save photos or memories, but keeping these old accounts a little harder to get to might be a good idea. There must be a reason you stopped checking that old Twitter account. Were you upset with the content you were finding? Did you have bad interactions with other people? Don’t give yourself a reason to log back in. If a social media site is not bringing you happiness, then leave. Social media should be a positive force in your life, not a source of stress.
The bottom line is, that if you’re finding yourself getting stressed easily after engaging with online posts, take a step back and reevaluate why that is. Take a break from your phone or unfollow the pages that don’t bring you joy!