As digital natives, many of us have become dependent on our phones and, in turn, social media. The world of social has infiltrated our lives in such a short time-frame, giving us little opportunity to understand how to build and manage a healthy relationship with it. Below, we detail a guide to help you form an intentional and meaningful relationship with the digital world that aims to add value and joy to your life.
Social media allows us platforms to express ourselves, represent our businesses, and communicate and connect with others, while acting as an outlet for entertainment and escapism; But, with social media (over)use, can often trigger unhealthy relationships, leading to creative burnout, self-doubt, and mental wellbeing burdens.
As social media managers, we get it, and many of us are no strangers to these impacts. Managing and exceeding personal expectations, being creative but also relatable, posting consistently while also producing quality content, representing your brand but also showcasing yourself and your team in order to humanise the brand etc etc… we get it.
These experiences however, have shaped our relationship with social media today, so we’ve compiled a guide to creating and navigating a relationship with social media that helps prevent over-consumption, burnout, and anxiety, and helps you begin creating a relationship with social media that inspires and excites you.
Don’t be afraid to set boundaries, sign off, & take breaks.
Yes, business owners and social media managers, even you! Just like any other job you have, you need to sign off otherwise you have no disconnect from social media and personal life. Learning to be okay with taking breaks from social media, without the guilt or pull to check for notifications, is going to essentially help you gather the creative inspiration and fresh air needed to log back on and begin connecting with your communities once again. When you limit your screen time, you’re creating more time for enriching, real-world experiences.
Promoting this separation to others by posting ‘relax & enjoy your weekend’ or ‘take some time for yourself this week’ content encourages this healthy mentality and aims to normalise taking these essential breaks. If you’re worried about your online presence and staying consistent with your posts, planning content in advance and scheduling will assist greatly with this.
Unfollow and disengage with unhealthy accounts.
Though it’s difficult to communicate this with our brains at times, more often than not, the images, Stories & videos we see on social media are not reflective of real life. If there are accounts you follow that make you feel lesser-than, down, uninspired, and give you a false sense of reality… may we suggest you unfollow or mute them..? This is easier said than done, but no follow is worth the negative toll it’s having on your mental wellbeing.
Be intentional with who you follow and engage with.
To continue on from the above, becoming intentional with the accounts you are following and engaging with can help your daily feed become a source of light, inspiration, and positivity rather than the opposite. This is also important for business accounts as, essentially, who you follow and engage with is representative of who you are as a brand and who you wish your community to include.
Learn to coexist with social media.
We all know someone that could spend all day arguing how much they hate social media.. BUT, learning that social media can actually be your friend and doesn’t deserve to be constantly bad-mouthed can serve you and your business more good than you may realise. Despite what others may think, there is much good here in the social space, and finding a healthy balance and learning to coexist with social media is going to give you a much clearer, healthier perspective on the network.
Consciously take note of what you consume & share.
Each day, we are exposed to never-ending streams of information coming from a range of digital sources. This can make it difficult to determine the reputability of sources of news and information, which is why it’s important to play a conscious role in checking the reliable nature of the content before sharing it with your online community. Think about whether the content - be it an image, video, or article - is helpful or harmful to others. If it falls under the latter category and does not contribute something positive to your community and digital world, it may not be worth sharing on your account.
Avoid scrolling upon waking up.
We’re all guilty of opening Instagram or TikTok and beginning to scroll before we’ve even had a chance to realise what day of the week it is; however, creating a night and morning routine that involves not reaching for your phone within the first 30-60minutes of going to sleep and waking up, can make the greatest of differences to your mental wellbeing. A 2021 Forbes article by Jai Ray pretty well sums up why this is a step not to be missed.
Business owners - have a strategy that works for you.
We’re here to tell you that social media can be your friend - not something to be feared. While you could make a long list of dos and don'ts of social media management, crafting and adopting an effective strategy that works for you will override a great deal of these rules. As social media managers, we’re here to help you create a social media strategy that works specifically for you and your brand.
The impacts social media can have on your life depends on your perspective as well as your choices. Various platforms can either overtake areas of your life in harmful ways, or can be used as tools to improve your life, your relationships, your creative and strategic thinking, and your business. Our experience with social media comes down to balance and boundaries and we hope this article helps you become more intentional and aware of your relationship with it.
If you would like to discover the world of opportunity social media holds for you and your brand, get in contact with us today - we'd love to hear from you. X
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