Social Media Self Care Guide

We live in the times where it's seemingly hard to go a day without social media. While it is an excellent platform to connect and stay updated with the latest of trends, it can also potentially have a negative impact on one's life. As the saying goes, "Too much of something is never good." So is the case with social media. 

Today, I want you to ask yourself, How often do you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through your social media feed? Honestly, we've all been there. Until the day we realise whether it is doing us more harm than good. 

Social media can be addictive and for the obvious reasons. These social media platforms have been designed to keep you engaged. Think about it this way, You keep getting notifications for the tiniest of updates on your social media account. Why does that happen? - it happens to simply pull your attention back to the platform and keep you engaged right there. Moreover, social media algorithms work in such a way that you begin to see more of what you engage yourself into. This is how it becomes addictive. 

Needless to mention, the reason behind these well planned and well executed strategies - the more time you spend on a social media platform, the more money the developers of the app make. 

Moreover, social media has the potential to negatively affect a person's mind. It has been concluded by experts that an excessive use of social media can lead to depression, anxiety, lack of self esteem, insomnia and the list goes on. Therefore, indulge yourself into some or the other form of social media self care every now and then.

Here are a few good ways we can do that - 

1. MONITOR YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE - 

A smart way to go begin your social media self care is by monitoring your social media usage. There are plenty of apps available that can help you track your daily social media usage. You'll be surprised to see how much and how frequently you've been using your social media accounts. The analysis will be alarming enough to let you redevelop your life choices. 

PRO TIP: Download and install the 'Quality Time' app on your devices. 

2. DISABLE APP NOTIFICATIONS - 

Notifications can be distracting and nobody likes being distracted while in the middle of an important task. Moreover, notifications particularly from your social media accounts can make you more anxious to have a glance at what's new on your feed. You can choose to disable your app notifications and help yourself stay more focused. Don't worry, you'll not miss on anything, trust me. Just do it for yourself.  Each device you own has an option in the settings to do that.

2. UNFOLLOW,  UNFRIEND, BLOCK  - 

Social media can be a big source of anxiety, but fortunately, you get to control who you follow on these platforms. Feel free to unfollow, unfriend, block in order to set boundaries from what costs you your peace of mind. Not only will you feel less anxious, it will also let you keep away from negativity which will help you focus on the good. 

4. TAKE BREAKS - 

There are better things to do in life than being engrossed into social media. Moreover, you need not feel pressured to respond to a notification as soon as it pops up on your screen. Take frequent breaks from all your digital devices. If you find it too hard to not check on your phone, stop carrying it around or simply put it away in another room where you can't have an easy access to it. This trick works every single time. 

5. SOCIAL MEDIA DETOX - 

Take a day, a week, a month or even a year off social media and see how it feels. Social media detox is a kind of digital detox and can prove to be of great help when trying to get over the addiction of social media. You may choose to deactivate all or few of your social media accounts or simply uninstall them from your devices for as long as you plan to go on a social media detox journey. You'll find it the hardest thing to do in the beginning but I can assure you that you'll begin to feel much better than you did before. You'll begin to have more time for yourself and you'll be able to direct and focus your energy towards something more productive. 

Take some time off your phone and indulge in a little social media self care so that you get to live in the moment, enjoy life. be more productive, manage your time well, stay healthy and the list goes on. You'll be a happier person, trust me. So go on and give yourself a break, now.