When was the last time you thought about the role of social media in your life?
Social media can be beneficial: allows you to create connections, find support during hard times, can reduce stigmas around different things, and sometimes you can form relationships with others that support you more than your own family.
It is just as important to recognize how social media can be toxic in your life: social comparison, cyber bullying, misinformation, toxic positivity, and a false sense of reality.
The key is to filter out the "noise" and increase the benefits.
- Social media can sometimes be filled with negativity and toxicity, and that can really take a toll on us. It's important to take a closer look at our feeds to make sure we are surrounding ourselves with positive messages and content.
- The first step is to look at the people that you are following. Do you have people that make you feel bad about yourself, or trigger negative feelings?
- If so, unfollow them! It can be hard to let people go, but it's good for your mental health to remove any negativity from your feed.
- Take some time to evaluate how you feel when you are getting ready to open the app
- Are you wanting to be inspired, needing a distraction....what feelings are coming up when you decide to get on social media?
- Next, take some time to assess the content that you're actually seeing in your feed.
- Does it bring about feelings of joy or warmth? Or does it fill you with dread?
- See if there are any types of content that could be causing more negative emotions, like happening news stories or polarizing topics.
- You don't have to cut out all this type of content, but make sure you have enough space in your feed for positive messages that make you feel good.
- Lastly, take note of the brands and people you're engaging with. If a brand or person is making you feel bad, it's perfectly okay to limit your interaction with them, or even unfollow them if needed.
We often forget how much of an impact what we see on our feed has on our thoughts and feelings. It can be hard to let things go, but taking some time for self-care can go a long way in making sure your mental health remains strong.
So, take some time today to go through your social media feeds and see what kind of messages you are seeing. Unfollow anyone who makes you feel negative or low and focus on filling your feed with content that makes you feel good about yourself and your life.
I hope this social media audit was helpful in bringing a bit of positivity back into your feeds.
*Want to dive deeper into strategies that help you explore how your life experiences and current choices shape your identity? Take a look at our Unravel Workbook.
