Having a Healthy Mindset About Social Media
Written by Abi Broda, Assistant Director
When we hear about “digital wellness” most of the time it’s followed with a thought or statement about why we should all fear social media. Let’s be real though…it’s a big part of our lives now. It’s how we stay connected to friends and family all over the world that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to. So, how do we keep a healthy mindset about social media?
Be careful who you follow
Something I like to do from time to time is to go through who I am following. I ask myself these questions as I am scrolling through; “Do I see posts from this person?” “Do I like what this person posts?” “Does what this person post make me feel any type of negative way?”
I usually have a handful that I can scrap, and this helps my mind as I am scrolling through my feed.
Create boundaries
Setting boundaries is a concept we hear in the Christian community constantly, that can relate to about a million different aspects of life. The truth is boundaries are actually really helpful. Learning how to create them and how to stick with them can be a whole other challenge though. Basically, to create a boundary you have to know yourself, your limits, and be able to prioritize harder tasks while your brain is fresh.
When I was in college, TikTok wasn’t around yet…but wow how it can suck away my time QUICKLY now. Now, I only look at social media for 2 reasons. 1. When I know I have time to waste. 2. When my brain needs a break from a project I am working on. In this instance, I reward myself 30 minutes to pause and relax before jumping back in.
Be friendly
I have a friend who just joined Instagram and she likes every. single. picture. that she scrolls past. She calls herself “a liker.” It’s partially a joke, but there is some good friend advice in this too. She wants to fully support all her friends all the time. Someone joked with her about it once and she explained that maybe she doesn’t love the photo, but her friend does, and she wants them to know she loves them. This made me question my motive behind liking things other people post. Is it because I like it or because I am genuinely being kind and supportive of others? My encouragement to you is to question why you are liking or not liking an image online, what do different posts make you feel, and to examine your motives behind who you are following.
