One of the most humbling experiences is getting the screen time notification showing you how much time you spent on your phone in the past week (at least for me). While college is full of many exciting moments, it also brings a lot of downtime which might leave many to use their phones to kill time in between classes or to wind down before bed. However, this creates a cycle of constantly being on your phone, more specifically on social media. Apps like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat are all very entertaining, but they can take a toll on your mental health if you become too addicted. Therefore, it is important to establish a healthy, non-toxic relationship with social media in order to make it a fun online environment.
- screen time
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It can be very tempting to just hit “remind me in 15 minutes” after reaching your time limit, but once you get in the habit of exiting out of the app, you eventually will spend less and less time endlessly scrolling. If this doesn’t work, then try setting limits on what times of the day you can’t go on certain apps. If you find yourself endlessly scrolling at night instead of sleeping, then create a period where these apps are locked.
- post what makes you happy
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It feels like people have forgotten the original purpose of these platforms: to share photos and videos with your friends and family and see what other people are up to. I liked when people used Instagram to post random pictures and even the Musical.ly era where the whole point of the app was to share stupid videos you make for fun. Now, social media has turned into a platform to only post pictures where you look perfect or pictures to brag about how great your life is. That’s why I think we should go back to posting things we like instead of trying to create an online persona.
- If you aren’t sure if you should post it, don’t!
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Having a digital footprint is real and will always come back to haunt you, whether it’s your friends making fun of you or a future employer refusing to hire you over something inappropriate you posted. Therefore, it’s important to think before posting something because things on the internet never fully go away. Social media is already stressful enough, so try to avoid making it even more stressful by posting something you might regret.
- Remove followers
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I had a public Instagram account for a while and went private a few years ago because I started to get scared that anyone could see my posts. I went through my followers recently and realized there were a lot of weird accounts following me, so I removed them. The point of social media is to share memories with the people you want to see them, so if there’s a certain person you don’t want to see your account or you just get anxious knowing a certain person can see your posts, there is no harm in simply removing them from your following.
- Create an account where you only follow your close friends and accounts you are interested in
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Having a “finsta” is a great way to only see posts you are interested in because there is less stress to follow people on this type of account. It eliminates having to see posts you aren’t interested in or that might be annoying to you. Remember: the original intention of these platforms was to share with and see what your friends are up to, not for your followers or following list.
- Find other activities for when you have free time
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For me, I’ve found that I go on TikTok or Instagram the most when I am either bored or stressed out. To deal with this, it’s helpful to have some hobbies to entertain you and help you relax when you feel the urge to go on your phone. When I’m feeling lazy, I like to watch a show or movie or read a book. But when I’m trying to feel more productive, it’s good to catch up on assignments or organize something to keep myself occupied.
One crucial thing to keep in mind is that people only post what they want others to see, so you shouldn’t compare yourself to that type of content. Social media should be fun and not stressful, so hopefully some of these methods will help you create a better online experience.