Your Mental Health & Social Media
Last week, we asked our community to share some of their tips on how to take care of their mental health while using social media. Thank you to those who shared these great suggestions!
Delete social media apps off your phone. They make browsing feeds super easy and that's the addictive part.
Use an app or built-in feature to manage your screentime. Seeing your screentime can be a big shock! And most let you set limits on certain apps and will remind you when you're getting close to or over your limit.
Unfollow accounts and people that don't make you feel good. Fill your feed with positivity and things you love. I love following accounts on Instagram that are good for my mental wellbeing and give me self-care tips (like The New Happy, Mentemia, Morgan Harper Nichols and more).
Post and share the kind of things you want to see on your feed. An important one if you're an active poster and like creating content. Social media can feel like a highlights reel rather than real life, so share real moments that aren't perfect or curated and keep it real.
I like to keep in mind the purpose of why I'm engaging in that particular social media platform. Before the pandemic, I deleted my Instagram app and didn't use it because I thought using the app was not a good use of my time. At the start of the pandemic / as my yoga studio closed, I decided to redownload my Instagram app so I could workout via the live fitness classes my instructor was hosting! I don't ever really post on my IG and to be honest, I don't even follow most of my friends on that account, which is totally fine. These days, I really only use Instagram for my workout classes and to read the New Happy Posts, which is both very worth it for me and protects my well-being, so I'm totally fine with having IG downloaded on my phone again :)
I also like to remind myself to not allow social media to be a replacement for phone calls or Facetimes with friends. Back in college when I used FB a lot, it almost felt like I was using it as a substitute for conversations with friends. For example, if a friend I hadn't talked to in a while posted a picture of themselves on vacation super happy, in the back of my mind, I would assume that all was well for them and I wouldn't really make as much as an effort to reach out to them. However, one post doesn't tell the whole story. Often times people post their highlight reels on social media and it's important to 1) remember not to compare our lives with others based on what we see on social media, 2) not assume things based on what our friends post on social media, and 3) still check in on others even if all they post is "cool/happy" pictures of their lives
Give yourself grace when it comes to social media. With opportunities to instantaneously connect with others, it's easy to feel like we have to immediately respond back once we get a DM or message. It's totally fine to turn off notifications, step away from our phones, and delete apps that we don't want to use.
Consider jumping in the deep end and deleting it! I first did this sometime last year, and completely failed. I just kept re-downloading it and logging in. But I deleted Instagram again at the start of the UK lockdown (March) and only checked it on my laptop occasionally. I honestly can't say how much this helped me! It also frees up so much time and means that you can do more productive, good things rather than doomscrolling. If straight-up deleting seems too big, I'd say set up limits and STICK TO THEM, or delete one social media from your phone (keeping some others) and allow yourself to check the deleted one on a computer/laptop occasionally so you stay in the loop.