We’ve all heard that social media will take a toll on our mental health, and I’m pretty sure you’ve felt the effects of that too. The trouble is that we don’t all know what it means to have a balanced social media habit. Social media is so deeply embedded in our everyday lives that not actively using social media is almost seen as a taboo.
It reminds me of the modern dating horror story video where the girl freaks out when the man she’s dating reveals she’s not on social media. It’s pretty rare, after all, for someone not to be on social media at all.Personally, I have gotten to the point that I feel burnt from the social media world. I’m simply shocked by how much knowledge you need to absorb. It sounds like people are just doing something to share on social media, and it doesn’t feel good to me just to please others.
I’ve never felt the urge to delete everything completely, but I have felt the need to step away from it all. That being said, the Netflix show You did make me consider getting as far away from social media as possible and never talking to a stranger again? Sometimes I think back to the days when Instagram stories didn’t even exist and podcasts were barely a thing. I consumed so much less back then and my mind was definitely a healthier place.
The negatives and positives of social media
I know that the social media are supportive. It’s a big good thing for me to be able to interact with people I wouldn’t have known otherwise. I’ve been able to speak to, and meet, amazing people who share common experiences and passions. I’ve been able to keep up with the lives of my cousins living in different countries, and I’m never going to forget the day when Tezza commented on a instagram post of mine.
Social media (or, more specifically, individuals on social media) will give us inspiration, new thoughts, alternative ways of thought. There are also memes and vine compilations that make you laugh until you cry.
That’s why I made some changes to avoid having to deal with those not-so-fun parts. Life is happening outside of social media, and I knew it wasn’t healthy to be on social media every second of my day.
5 Tips for healthy social media habits
If you need to reevaluate your relationship with social media but don’t want to quit cold turkey, here are some tips for healthier social media habits:
1. Use screen time option
I’ve had my downtime scheduled from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Stuff including phone calls, email, and music are still allowed, but I’ve put this time limit
on all social media applications on my phone, like Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Tiktok, and Pinterest. That means I’m not alerted at those moments, and I’m not opening the autopilot software that I used to do. Also, I’m not browsing social media first thing in the morning, which has enhanced my productivity.
2. Turn notifications off
If I get a notification, I’m going to click it. Even if I do something important, I always feel the need to review the notification. To stop the endless disruptions, I switch off my phone update notifications on all of my social media applications. If I happen to search the app during the day, then I’ll see the message and deal with it. I know there are a lot of people who can’t live with something missing, but I’m not one of those people, and you can become that person, too, if you let yourself go.
3. Add a feed blocker
I have the Facebook Chrome extension News Stream Eradicator on my device that gives me a quote on the homepage instead of a news feed. This means I’m only going to Facebook to scan updates and messages instead of browsing or being annoyed by random posts.
4. Take advantage of using the mute button
Instagram and Twitter both have a chance to silence users, and Facebook has a chance to unfollow them. This is a very helpful choice if you want to
reduce the noise on your feed without leaving users behind (which can feel super awkward). Often I go back and mute almost anyone I follow just so that I can be on social media without a lot of noise. Often, stop following someone who lets you compare their life to yours. But stop checking who’s seen your Instagram story for your sanity. It’ll help prevent less stress upon yourself in the end.
5. Try to start posting when you have something to share
Since I first started posting, Instagram wasn’t a significant part of anyone’s content plan. The key points of interaction with close friends is a) messages b) Twitter and c) Facebook. Things have shifted, and I’ve had this overwhelming urge to keep posting. At some point, it all begins to feel like noise, and I don’t want to share it for the sake of remaining important. I want to share this because I have everything I want to share. This one was especially hard to deal with, because I feel bad for not sharing a lot on Instagram, but it also means that my sanity is just a little bit more protected.
Bonus tip: Turn off social media cellular use
I don’t have an unlimited data plan on my phone so this one is more of a practical suggestion to avoid fees, but I turned off the option to use Instagram (one of the biggest data-suckers) and Facebook on cellular. That way, I have to be on WiFi in order to use those apps. This means I can’t be mindlessly scrolling on them while I’m out and about.
What healthy social media habits do you have?
I hope this post has encouraged you to make some changes if you’ve been feeling uninspired by the world of social media. To take action right now, choose one of the tips that I shared and set it up before you forget.