A Healthy Relationship With Social Media

As human beings, we have a fundamental need to connect. This need, which is as basic as our drive for food, water and sex, motivates us to reach out to others and build relationships. It is because of our predisposition to belong that our lifelong passion in life is to socially connect with others. Today, social media makes it easier than ever to connect and stay connected to others—fulfilling our need to bond despite distance and time. While platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can add to the human experience, they have the potential to add toxicity to our lives, decreasing our self-worth and life satisfaction. Below are a few tips to help keep your social media life healthy.

Detox Your Friends and Your Newsfeed: If you’ve had your Facebook since middle school, chances are you have over 1,000 friends. How many of these “friends” do you honestly care enough about to keep up with on a daily basis? Find the time this week to go through and delete those who are no longer a part of your life.

In a similar manner, you may also follow accounts on Instagram or Twitter that no longer serve you. Unfollow these accounts and take a deep breath! Doing so will minimize your newsfeed to include only the people and things that are an important part of your present life, decreasing daily stress and highlighting only what currently matters to you.

Make Post Meaningful: It is easy to feel the need to post something weekly or even daily—hey, you’re just as important as your friends are! Instead of posting to “keep up,” however, try posting only when it’s something meaningful to either you or those who you keep up with.

Monitor Your Post For No Longer Than a Half an Hour After It’s Posted: This one speaks for itself.

Follow People for Who They Are, Not What They Post: Editing apps and the ability to post selectively makes it easy for people to filter their realities. Instead of following someone because their lifestyle or appearance appeals to you, try to only follow those who appeal to you on an emotional or intellectual level. This can help keep the negative thoughts about your own life at bay while increasing your learning and positive thinking.

Remember Your Reality: As previously mentioned, social media is great because it provides a means for staying connected. It can, however, take away from your current reality. (Think—you and your friends are at dinner but everyone is on their phones). While it is important to stay connected to those you cannot see, it is also important to remember to be with those who are actually with you. Invest in your relationships wisely.

Cheers,

Rebecca