The original idea for social media was to create connection, but WE managed to over consume like we do other things, right?
Did you ever stop and look at the screen time on your phone? If you have an iPhone, you can look at how many hours you spend in each app…I won’t share mine because running multiple social media platforms has me constantly on my phone, but I try my best to set my phone aside after my mom and I talk on the phone in the evening.
When walking, I try to make a point not to scroll on social media or look at my phone to give myself a break. It’s sad that we have to be so disciplined, but the minute we downloaded these apps, we sold our souls. I’m truly trying to be more intentional about the amount of time I spend on these apps. They can truly be detrimental to mental health and overall well-being.
I don’t want to look back on this time in my life and remember staring at a phone screen, consuming gossip or going down the rabbit hole…
I’ve never been a big fan of snapchat. It came around when I was a little bit older and in college. I have never really been into it, BUT I tried and after some time I thought to myself, “Why am I trying to add another platform to keep up with?” I don’t have time and the same goes for TIK TOK (although I do go down a reels rabbit hole every once in a blue moon).
What do I want from social media? I want to connect with people.
I made a rule for myself on instagram that I would ONLY follow people who inspire me and accounts that are uplifting. Have you ever audited your instagram to see who you are following? Are you consuming content from accounts that leave you feeling icky or uninspired? I audit my instagram about once a month to be sure I am not consuming content that doesn’t serve me.
Just like we outgrow people, we also outgrow social media accounts.
Basically, I go through everyone I am following and see if any accounts stand out. Please do not think this is from a judgmental standpoint, it is truly something that I do to hold me accountable for only following accounts that truly inspire me. I don’t know if you do this, but it has worked wonders for me.
We tend to over-consume so many things and I think that overconsumption and extremities in any way is unhealthy. I have my own things that I know I over-consume, outside of social media, but the first step to scaling back is recognizing over-consumption.
Is there anything you are over-consuming right now that may be holding you back from making true connection with people? Social media is one of the most obvious thing some of us over consume, BUT a goal of mine for this year is to truly create strong, healthy, genuine connections with people.
Just the other day, my mom and I went out to lunch before we went to the spa and I was telling her how I am trying to connect to people who are like me and share common interests. I won’t sit here and tell you that it is easy for me to connect with people who are polar opposite of me. I think that is just human nature, but I do my best to learn from them in some capacity.
Although those people may be more of acquaintances, my hope is to make a more genuine connection and build friendships with people who share common interests with me, but share a fresh, new perspective on the lifestyle I am pursuing. They say, “You become the company you keep” and I firmly believe this. It’s human nature to become more like the people you surround yourself with.
Because of COVID, we have all had to scale back on in-person connection and I won’t lie, it has taken a major toll on me.
I’m extroverted, but also being raised as an only child gave me introverted tendencies. I’m a healthy combination of both and I wouldn’t trade my ability to say, “I need me time” for the world! Friendships were/are my connections. Growing up, my friends were my sisters and confidants, but they also went home after a few nights at my house, you get where I’m coming from?
Thanks to social media, many of the friends I made in the last couple of years were through these platforms and I am SO GRATEFUL for this ability to connect. Some of the most AMAZING and supportive people in my life are YOU who is reading this blog post. You guys who shoot me a DM or text afterwards to let me know you resonated with what you read or heard shows the power of this connection.
In this new year, I hope to connect over consume and over time my hope is that we can go back to factory settings and use social for what it was meant for, connection.
Liked this post? HERE are more post like this one!