Like most people, the first and last thing I do every day is grab my phone and scroll through social media. I do this when I have a break in between classes or I’m just bored. Social media is one of the best things to be created, but also the worst. Over quarantine, I spent almost half of my day scrolling through Instagram, Tiktok, vsco, and the countless other platforms. I started to think, how is this benefiting me and is this the best use of my time? I began to realize I was either comparing myself to people I saw on social media and picking out my flaws or comparing my life to there’s and wishing I was them. I didn’t want to delete my social media completely because I still enjoyed it. I reassessed the ways I used social media and here are some of the best things that helped me create a more positive relationship with social media.
1. Everything you see is edited!
We see and hear this all the time. When I would hear this, I would still say to myself, “But they still look like that so what does it matter?” If you would see the actual before and after pictures, it really makes a difference. These influencers have professional photographers and editing teams. The way they look in their pictures is unrealistic. They have flaws too.
2. Follow people who post positive things
There are so many accounts and influencers who vouch a positive vibe and post daily motivation. Seeing these on my feed would improve my mood and give me some motivation for the day instead of comparing myself first thing in the morning. There are so many different types of accounts, do some research and find your favorites.
3. Give yourself a time limit
As much as we want to scroll through social media for hours, there’s better things to do with time were given. Set some boundaries for how long you spend on social media. Not doing it first thing in the morning or last thing at night can also help.
4. You have the power to unfollow and follow whoever you want
Don’t like something? Just unfollow it. I would find myself following people I didn’t even really know. There was no point in seeing their lives when I didn’t really know them. I limited who I followed to people I knew and cared to see how they were doing.
Social media is an amazing thing. We can keep up with friends and family, as well as get fashion inspiration and daily motivation. Having a positive relationship with it is important. These are some of my favorite ways to maintain this and I hope they can help others too!