I don’t know about you but I find that social media can be a waste of time at the best of times, let alone during this current health pandemic.
There is no faster route to losing anything from ten minutes to an hour than scrolling aimlessly on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and so on. It can become toxic over time.
Granted these channels can provide a great way to socialize, laugh😂, and feel a little less alone, especially right now. There are also the benefits of growing your business, and of course keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances. But what about the darker side of social media?
When it starts to replace your time set aside for meditation, reading or quality time with your partner, it starts to be an invasive and unwanted habit.
During the quarantine, I think it is important to raise the topic of being aware of the time we spend on social media.
If the first thing you check in the morning is your phone 📱, you are cutting into your meditation or workout time. At first it may seem like a quick minute or so, but before you know it, you’ve been on social media for hours and haven’t started on some of the most important things you have to do for the day.
Even if you meditate at night and workout in the afternoon, do you really want to start your day on your phone? You risk your mood (and vibration) being negatively affected instead of starting your day right with high vibrational activities such as quiet contemplation, meditation, yoga stretches, journaling, or a walk outside. .
Starting your day like this every time isn’t a big deal, but if it becomes a habit, you can watch your precious morning time disappear into thin air quickly!
You are not alone, you have fallen into the same habit many times over the years. And the problem with habits is that they are hard to break! You have to be aware of your actions if you want to be more aware of how you start your day.
Ask yourself what is most important to you? Do you wake up and mindlessly scroll or do you wake up and consciously create your day? Which is more powerful? What makes you feel better? Be honest.
Think about the following questions:
- Does social media improve your life? Or does it hold you back from being the best version of you?
- What kind of emotions does social media evoke in you?
- Does it make you compare yourself or your life to others?
- Does it make you feel more confused and scared, especially right now with all the information about Covid-19?
- Do you feel the need to keep up with others?
- Do you feel compelled to share something in order to get some likes and feel better?
- Does using social media ultimately make you feel bad about yourself?
If you answered yes to most of the above questions, it may be that social media is starting to shift you from a higher vibrational frequency to a lower one.
It’s time to start becoming more aware and aware of social media.
- Decide to set an intention before logging into your social accounts. Are you clicking to connect with others or to distract yourself? What do you hope to get out of your experience? It may sound grandiose (all you have to do is take a quick look and see what everyone else is doing right?) but by stopping yourself before entering the minefield, you create a sense of awareness that you will carry with you while scrolling.
- Share what makes you feel good and express your truth. Don’t share or write just for likes, share to make others feel less alone, not to teach them or try to convince them about what you think they should hear. Spread love and positivity not fear and stress.
- Do not follow people, groups or organizations that create fear in you. If it makes you feel bad, ask yourself if it is necessary to keep in your life. Follow and share things that uplift and empower you instead.
- If you find yourself being triggered by things others post and share, ask yourself why and try to work through the emotion. Don’t judge others on what they decide to post.
- If you start to feel negative about yourself or compare your life to others, become aware of why and consciously shift your focus to something else. Immediately remind yourself of what you are grateful for and what you have the power to change in your life.
- Focus on the positive things about social media such as connecting with family, friends and like-minded individuals. Use it purely to create happiness and love.
- Create a new goal to not look at social media first thing in the morning. Leave a designated time where you can look at your bills and then log out.
- Turn off your notifications. So, don’t be tempted to click every time something happens, (let’s face it, 99% of these notifications are not urgent).
- Choose to replace your usual social media time with something that actually improves your life for the better. A ten minute meditation, a ten minute sun salutation, reading a book, writing in your journal, adding a picture to your vision board, even learning a new language!
I’m not saying that social media is bad or that you shouldn’t use it, but just be a little more aware of the ways we choose to approach it.
Never measure your worth in the amount of clicks or likes you get. Your worth starts with how you feel about yourself.
I hope this helps you decide how and when to spend your energy and attention.
Empower yourself and gain control over where your precious energy goes, I promise, you’ll feel better.
