Social Media is not social.
I recently decided all social media is a no-go.
It’s one of those things…I thought about it for a while, cut out each little by little, took a long break to reflect, and realized the changes were wonderful.
We have mixed reviews over social media all across the board.
-”But it helps me connect with people!” Totally true.
-”But I learn so much more about other things from it!” Also totally true.
-”And I spend way too much time on it.” Absolutely the case.
-”And I feel worse when I close it out, compared to when I clicked to open it.” Yep.
You can totally love certain aspects of social media. That’s completely valid. But take time to think about how you are feeling after you used it. Do you really feel better about yourself? About your situation? About your life?
Let’s review a few examples.
It’s early morning. You’re going to start your day productively. You have things you want to get done. You sit down for a few minutes. Open an app. Scroll. See other things you’re interested in. Scroll more. It’s been 30 minutes (minimum). Do you feel better? Do you feel productive? Are you any more peaceful from when you started?
You feel agitated. You don’t feel like talking to anyone. You get on an app. Start scrolling. Other people are doing things with their day. You switch over to something else. You try to watch funny videos to clear your head. It’s been an hour. Is that trigger of what agitated you actually gone? Did it resolve itself by scrolling? Do you feel better- at your core?
You’re lonely. You get on an app. You talk to a few people, see a few posts, comment on them. You talk about how your day went. People are in & out of conversation because they’re scrolling too. Do you feel more connected? Maybe. But how connected are you actually to the person you were talking to?
I totally can understand how some/certain social media can connect you & provide support to you in ways you cannot get from face-to-face interactions.
I am not doubting that.
What I am doubting, is how comforting is the connection from social media? Like, actually.
If you really think about it, you are still in a room, generally alone, or feeling alone…at the end of the day.
Wouldn’t it be great if you liked the person (yourself) that you are in the room with?
Social media doesn’t always support that aspect of life.
I will often ask my clients: Sure, social media can do a lot of things that could be good…but does it actually encourage you to love yourself more?
That is what we need to remember.
If it doesn’t make me feel better about myself, then why am I doing it?
Keep the good parts, set boundaries with the others.
Learn the things you’re interested in, but don’t rely on social media as the main source.
Find the support you need, and fill the rest of your heart with self-love from the inside.
Reach out, let’s process that together and…maybe…find other alternatives to filling your cup.
