It’s no secret that the pressures of portraying our ‘best life’ on social media can lead to, insecurities, cyberbullying, distorted images of perfection and other serious mental health issues. A quick scroll through your feed and you’ll get an endless glimpse of everyone’s polished online presentation. From professional achievements, dream vacations that look like they came straight out of Travel + Leisure Magazine, beautiful toned bodies, to more and more personal goals and triumphs.
For those of us using it as a key marketing tool for growing our businesses, side hustles, and boosting sales, it can definitely start feeling like a chore trying to keep up with postings and trends. Yes, exhausting – AF. With various edited versions of our online lives, it’s really easy to assume everyone else is more accomplished, confident and happier than you are. However, you must always remember that YOU have the control over what you choose to do with these platforms and how you want to interact.
There’s ways you can turn your social media experience from negative, unhealthy or toxic into a platform dedicated to boosting social support or creating a sense connectedness within your community. It is possible, with just a touch on your screen, the right approach and mindset! So, coming from someone who’s had her share of love-hate phases with social media throughout the years, I decided to share 5 tips to help you create healthier and pressure-free cyber environment:
Set social media boundaries for yourself.
Platforms are constantly evolving and adapting new features to make your experience better. You can mute, hide, remove follower and restrict just to name a few options. USE THEM, guilt free whenever you need! Especially if you notice that you’re becoming more stressed or you’re simply not enjoying your online time anymore. The best part is that these features allow you to safely set boundaries without notifying the other person that they’ve been muted or restricted, for example.
Curate an online environment that you love.
Be selective and intentional. I encourage you to follow accounts that inspire you, bring joy, laughs and provide a virtual space where you can show up as yourself, feel seen and heard. Also, stop following the people or pages that trigger you and don’t engage in content that doesn’t resonate with you or your values.
“Comparison is the thief of joy”.
Does this phrase ring a bell? Because this is especially true for social media and it’s where most of us mess up the online experience for ourselves. Practice writing down on your “W’s”, and answer them honestly. The ones I mostly use are the following:
Check-in with yourself.
Self examination is a must to maintain a healthy mindset, that’s why this tip along with nr. 3 work well together.
Remember that we simply aren’t supposed to be good at everything — and that’s OK. Unapologetically take your time to SLOW DOWN when you start feeling overwhelmed. Social media breaks are necessary and more common nowadays, especially post-pandemic. Your followers and your online community that have taken the time to get to know you, will understand your online needs.
Reset, Readjust and Refocus.
Apply this one as many times as you need. Once you’ve done your self-examination and reviewed your W’s, take some time to reset your online goals. These can evolve frequently because our needs are also changing with time. Do your best to focus on your creative side and other ways to feel connected to people you love. Content ideas for this can be centered on: your awesome taste in music, funny and relatable memes, lessons learned from personal experience, hidden talents etc.
Remember that those who love the content you display on these platforms and how you show up online will keep supporting you and being a part of your tribe. Your end goal should not be to blindly follow the crowd but rather to find a way forward that works just right for you. If you thought this article was useful and you want to keep learning some more, subscribe here and I’ll tell what’s the story on ‘Lately with Larissa’.
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Sea bo ta un first-time mommy, un mama soltera/experiencia/moderno, e no ta importa con bo ta defini bo mes como mama. Entre varios expresion y comentarionan relaciona cu maternidad lo cual semper ta resalta ta cu esaki no ta un trayecto facil pero si uno cu ta bale la pena. Si abo ta buscando pa trece mas balans den bo bida como mama e tipnan di e blog post aki sigur lo por yuda bo.
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