In the past, I can admit to the fact that I’ve had a toxic relationship with social media. Although, with the help of a few changes in habits, I have reached a place where I visit social media for laughs and inspiration instead of comparison. Now I’m here to share the five tips that completely transformed my relationship with social media.
1.Audit your following list
I noticed my feed was giving me a constant sense of FOMO (fear of missing out). Every time I logged off social media, I felt worse than when I’d logged in. Instead of staying miserable, I changed my feed by shortening the massive list of people I followed. I unfollowed the celebrities I would constantly compare myself to and even people from middle school who I just didn’t need to be connected to anymore. It was a cleanse for my profile, my feed and my mind and I highly recommend you try it!
2. Be selective with your apps
I used to think that I needed an account on every social media platform. I’m talking about Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Tik tok—even Vine (rest in peace, forever in our hearts). But I’ve found that it’s important to be more selective about the apps I use every day. I noticed that certain apps made me feel different than others. For example, Twitter was a very draining place for me that always made me feel down, so I deleted the app from my phone. Tik tok on the other hand never fails to make me laugh and helps me unwind at the end of a long day. I now know that I’m not missing out on anything because I don’t have a presence on a particular platform.
3. Set time limits
Several social media apps like Instagram and TikTok have an option for you to set a time limit on your usage. Once you have scrolled to your limit, the app will let you know how much time you have spent on it and remind you to log off. These time limits have not only reduced the number of hours I spend on social media, but they showed me just how much time I spent consuming mindless media. Now that I’ve stopped spending an embarrassing amount of my life scrolling to oblivion, I have more time for hobbies!
4. Make the algorithm work for you
Social media algorithms have the potential to be problematic, but I’ve learned to use them to my advantage and so can you. Most social media apps have options for you to inform them when the content in your feed is not what you want to see. For example, if you press and hold on a video on TikTok, you can click “Not interested” and you will see less content like that in the future. Any time I saw content that made me feel negative, I clicked ‘not interested’ and now I never see accounts, pictures or videos that make me feel down or insecure!
5. Follow accounts that uplift and inform you!
Aside from cutting out negative influences, you can also seek out positive content to enhance your social media experience. I like to follow accounts that inform me about world news and social issues, as well as accounts that will inspire me, make me laugh and give me fashion inspiration. Check out the accounts below to get you started!
News: @vicenews @earthrise.studio @cbcnews
Social issues: @decolonizemyself @so.informed @mattxiv
Comedy: @affirmations @zillowgonewild @siblingsordating
Fashion: @diet_prada @matildadjerf @watchingnewyork