Everyone uses social media today — from your boss on LinkedIn to your kids on TikTok. But social media is a tool that must be used mindfully. With this in mind, here are 3 tips on how you can use social media mindfully.
Using mindfulness online
Mindfulness and social media might seem like two very different concepts. Mindfulness is the practice of being aware and present, objectively assessing the moment before you. You can practice mindfulness in a range of ways — from meditation to bullet journalling. The best thing about minfulness is the sheer range of benefits it brings. Being mindful can make you a calmer, happier person. On the other hand, social media is about sharing — whether in the moment or after it. A rising issue with social media is the negativity it sometimes brings to our lives. People face unhealthy beauty standards, suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out), or struggle to capture the “perfect moment”. Mindfulness can help resolve this. With mindfulness, you can use social media in a more positive way and have a better relationship with yourself. You’ll know how to objectively assess the information you see online and deal with negative emotions if they arise.
3 tips to use social media mindfully
#1 Set your intentions
It’s easy to get lost in the world of social media, which is why setting intentions is so important. Understand the reason why you use social media — is it to keep up with friends? Grow a following? Share your memories? This intention will influence how you use social media. For example, someone who wants to organically capture their memories will use social media very differently from someone looking to grow a following. With this intention in mind, you can then be more mindful of how you carry yourself online.
#2 Take things with a pinch of salt
Mindfulness is about objectively evaluating your thoughts or the moment before you. This applies to social media as well! Not everything on social media is real so you should be objective in assessing what’s shown before you. This can be especially challenging when the content is emotionally-driven. But with mindfulness, you can approach these pictures or videos in a calm and rational manner. When you see something jarring on social media, consider the reason why certain things were posted. How does this make you feel? Does it matter as much as you think it does in the current moment? How can you recover from it? This rational thought process will reduce your likelihood of getting emotionally affected by content online.
#3 Value your offline time
When social media is more accessible than ever, it can be difficult to segregate online and offline time. That’s why carving out online vs offline moments is so important. Use a mindful timer like a Timeqube to limit how long you spend on social media. These social media breaks will remind you that there’s so much more to experience than what you see on your screen — and this will give you the much-needed perspective to be happier in life!
