From the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep, social media is everywhere and part of our everyday lives and routines. While Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat all serve as great ways to connect with a large audience simultaneously, social media can be both a positive and negative environment—depending on what content you choose to follow as you scroll through your feed.
In the media, the importance of physical health is often emphasized more than emotional health. However, what many don’t realize is that emotional health is just as significant, as it determines how people carry themselves every day. In fact, according to “How Positive Emotions Build Physical Health,” an article published in Psychological Science in 2013, “…Experiences of positive emotions appear to serve as nutrients for the human body, increasing feelings of social belonging and giving a needed boost to parasympathetic health, which in turn opens people up to more and more rewarding positive emotional and social experiences.”
For this reason, it’s important to have a positive social media experience to sustain your overall happiness.
Here are four ways to make your social media a happier place:
- Unfollow negative people: As unfortunate as it is, negative people are everywhere. No matter how positive of a person you may be, “bad vibes” can find a way to bring you down. Therefore, it’s best to simply unfollow people or accounts that share gossip, false body image or judgment towards others.
- Be real. Don’t post for the likes: It’s too often that I see people post pictures that either have too much editing or simply seem un-genuine, just for likes. After doing a lot of both of those things throughout high school, I noticed that it just made me more self-conscious and insecure. When I broke away from that and began releasing content that embodied who I am, I not only became more comfortable with my true self, but happier overall.
- Write down a list of things that make you happiest and follow accounts that embody that: To enhance your social media experience, don’t just follow people you know, but follow accounts that feature things you love! For example, I’m a photographer, so I follow tons of accounts that not only spark inspiration, but also ones that share tips on how to improve my own skill set. I recommend sitting down, writing a list of things/experiences you enjoy and finding accounts on social media that embody that.
- Follow people that you aspire to be like: Inspiration is everywhere and one of the many places you can find it is on social media. It’s important to not only know who you are but know where you’re headed from there. Therefore, follow people who inspire you and push you to be the best version of yourself.
With the strong presence social media has in society, it’s important to make your experience on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat a positive one.
Stay inspired!