Nowadays, social media is everything, from advertising for companies to chatting with your friends; it is extremely influential to people’s careers and livelihoods. However, there is a dangerous side to it. Social media can be very damaging if our time on it is not managed and the content that we see is not crafted to be positive. With that, here are my top tips on how to use social media healthily.
- Remember that a lot of content is heavily edited and inaccurate to real life. Try not to base your body image and life goals on paid influencers to make you feel bad and buy their products. You are you, and that is perfect, exactly the way it is.
- Block and report people who are causing you mental stress if you can. Cyberbullying is extremely difficult to deal with, and the safest way is just to avoid the culprits altogether.
- Make sure you make time for grounded reality. Go on a walk and spend some time with nature; social media can be draining, and taking a step back is always a good idea.
- Only interact with content you want to see more of. The algorithms are designed to show you more of the content you engage with, so if you are engaging with negative content then social media can quickly become something potentially quite upsetting.
- Make time to see friends face-to-face as much as possible if you are able to. It is easy to fall into the trap of only talking to people online; however, humans are social creatures, and we thrive on spending time with those we love. Don’t allow social media to get in the way of this.
Social media can be a powerful tool for social connection, career, and practical support if used correctly, but always remember to stay true to yourself and listen to your body when it is telling you that you need a break.
Read more:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4183915
https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/social-media-teen-mental-health-a-parents-guide
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash