Social media is supposed to help you feel more connected to your world, from the friends you grew up with to the celebrities you’ve never met. Getting those updates is fun, but they might be seriously messing with your head. Here’s how you know you need a break and what to do about it.
Distress Signals
When you start comparing yourself to the picture-perfect world of social media, or when all of the bad news on Twitter gets overwhelming, it may be a sign that you should start unfollowing some accounts. Do you feel like everyone is more successful than you? Have you ever felt the need to travel, hit the gym or buy new clothes because you wanted to emulate someone you saw as successful? Maybe it’s time to take a step back.
Think about how you feel when you see posts from each account you follow and get that trigger finger ready to block accounts who make you feel bad about yourself or others. On the flip side, make sure you’re not also using social media to escape from your life. This may prevent you from addressing the issues that are making you feel unhappy.
Unfollowing to Restore Connection
Unfollowing the accounts that don’t make you feel truly happy helps you focus on the ones that do. When you’re only receiving the information that makes you feel good, you spend less emotional energy comparing yourself to others or taking on their stresses as your own. Get rid of the accounts that make you feel less than your best helps you spend more time getting inspired and operating in a happier state of mind.
With so much negativity around us each day, social media shouldn’t become yet another place to feel bad. Take some time to review your social media accounts, follow by follow. Feel free to opt out of any that don’t give you that boost of energy or spark of happiness. You’ll feel more connected to the things that matter to you and free yourself of the stresses other accounts might have brought.
Social Self Care
Cutting social media out of your life entirely might not be possible, and that’s okay. Instead, incorporate some self care into your social media browsing to ensure you’re never bringing yourself down:
- Recognize when social media is stressing you out and why, then take a break. Social media is about communication, but sometimes it’s best to step away until you have the time to think about what messages you want to be sending and receiving.
- Remember that your self worth is more than your social media accounts. Other people may look like they have it all, but keep in mind that you’re just as valuable no matter how many likes you get. Try to put less stock in your social media presence and more in your everyday self.
- Finally, try to find online escapes that aren’t social media. It can be stressful to constantly be confronted with pictures of other people’s success when you might be struggling yourself. When you get the urge to check Instagram again, log on to another online community that lifts you up and helps you connect in a more meaningful way.
Reevaluating your relationship with social media may feel scary at first. After all, these apps and websites connect us to the people we care about in an important way. While they offer an inside look at some of your favorite people’s lives, remember there’s life outside of social media — and what you see online doesn’t always reflect that life.
~Here’s to Your Success
