Social media is such a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s helped me connect with friends, new and old. I love staying in touch with friends and family and all the funny memes people share. I’ve learned a lot from reading Facebook statuses and I’ve found some amazing recipes on Instagram.
But there’s so much negative too.
There’s the comparison game we all play as we scroll through the highlight reel of someone else’s life. There’s the fighting and the bullying that comes when we can type something anonymously instead of saying things to someone’s face. There are the influencers who tell us about all the new products we need and how much better our lives would be if it was just like theirs. I could go on and on but I think you get the picture.
As moms, we carry SO much. We hold our families together and a lot of times we do it when we are falling apart ourselves. We need to be careful about what we let into our lives.
What we spend our time doing, reading, and watching influences our mental health.
I have a few tips for navigating social media so that it can bring light and positivity into our lives, rather than weigh us down.
- Unfollow or mute people when you feel negative about what they post. If they make you jealous, angry, or feel bad about yourself in any way, you do not have to follow them. You do not owe them anything! I have unfollowed old friends, coworkers, and even some family members at different times because what they shared didn’t make me feel good. Don’t feel guilty for doing what is best for you!
- Follow at least one person who makes you laugh. I LOVE to laugh! It’s such a release for me. Just a little bit of laughter when you’re going through something hard can make such a difference. So find someone with your sense of humor and follow them.
- Follow at least one person who inspires you. It doesn’t matter what they inspire you to do, whether it’s creative or active or just plain positive, you need that in your life!
- Follow at least one person who preaches body positivity. Sadly, so many of the photos we see online are heavily edited. Society tells us we need to be skinny and have perfect skin and perfect hair to be loved. That’s just not true! I have a few women I follow on Instagram who only post about body positivity and it has truly changed my life.
- Take a break when you need to. If you find yourself spending more time than you’d like on social media, or you’re just feeling down in the dumps because of things you’re seeing, just take a break!
There really are SO many things I love about social media.
In general, I think it’s a great thing. But there’s a lot of garbage on there too, so make sure when you’re logging in, it is a positive experience that adds to your life and doesn’t leave you feeling bad about yourself.
