Social media can be a cesspool of low-quality humans.
It can also be a place to find like-minded people that add value to our lives.
In both cases, it’s up to you to decide how you engage in the various platforms. For some, social media makes them happy, and for others, it leaves them feeling unfulfilled.
To better our social media experience, it’s important to use it intentionally.
And in this post, we’re going to talk about tips for a better experience, how social media can be toxic, and the addiction it can create.
The Benefits of Social Media
Using social media intentionally can have a lot of positive benefits.
For example, Facebook allows us to keep in touch with loved ones and old friends with ease. Twitter lets us connect with people from all over the world and spread ideas. And sites like YouTube and TikTok allow us to post videos, showing the world our individuality.
Like anything, it’s all in how you use the platform.
From a business standpoint, social media is a great way to connect with an audience and stay relevant.
Social media can be used to sell products, books, and courses. It can also be used to sell unwanted household items or your used car.
In my case, I use Facebook Marketplace to sell items I no longer need.
I also use Twitter to make new connections and write mini blog posts.
Social media can have a positive impact on your life depending on how you choose to use it.
So How Is It Toxic?
The problem with social media is the social aspect.
Humans are naturally inclined to puff their chest when there are no repercussions for doing so.
We’ve all been on Facebook and Instagram to see the well-crafted vacation photos with the perfect family setting on the beach.
The impeccable holiday photos where everyone is healthy and happy.
In most cases, people post on social media to throw a little parade for themselves and wait for the “likes” to come in like little cheers from the crowd.
Now it’s great to see people living their best life however, we often forget that this is not reality.
These people are not on vacation year-round and that perfect holiday photo forgot to include the family fight that ensued 10 minutes later.
People on social media portray the best versions of themselves and nothing more.
Sites like Instagram can leave us feeling inadequate and Facebook can leave us feeling left out. The facts are that social media can leave us feeling lonely and unfulfilled.
Social media is linked to depression, poor sleep habits, and even suicide. An increasing problem among children and I suspect adults as well.
Social media can be toxic for our overall well-being and happiness.
This is why it’s imperative to use social media responsibly and intentionally.
Mindlessly scrolling through social media is a good way to see what the Joneses have been up to. The problem arises when we compare other people’s lives to our own. This is especially concerning when what we are seeing is nothing but the highlight reel of someone else’s life. We rarely see the bad — just the good.
Comparing someone else’s life to our own is hardly fair and can leave us with feelings of depression and being left behind.
Therefore understanding the toxicity and fakeness of social media is key to understanding the feelings it can create.
Using social media intentionally can alleviate some of the adverse effects.
Social Media Addiction (A Drug of Choice)
According to addictioncenter.com psychologists estimate that 5 – 10 percent of people become addicted to social media.
And if you think about it, this easily makes sense.
Whenever we get a new ‘like’ or ‘mention’ on social media platforms we instantly receive a hit of dopamine to our brain.
In fact, some people rely so heavily on the satisfaction social media can create, it inhibits their everyday lives. Nonstop scrolling and the inability to step away often causes problems in people’s personal and professional lives.
Remember the term ‘Crackberry?’ A term from the early 2000s for Blackberry phones people couldn’t stay off of.
Social media companies fully understand the addictiveness of their platforms and continue to design them accordingly.
Now, I think we’re all guilty of wasting the day away mindlessly scrolling through our news feed.
Personally, I’m guilty of wasting an hour or two messing around on Twitter (my platform of choice) when I should be doing more productive tasks.
One of the worst parts of social media is the idea that it often makes us think we’re being productive.
From a business standpoint, spending some amount of time on social media is necessary however the lines are often blurred between productivity and wasting time.
The important thing to recognize here is the Dopamine hit.
How often have stayed up late at night waiting for one more “like” or one more “share”?
It’s very similar to the feelings we get when we fall in love and eat our favorite foods. We’re addicted to the satisfaction created by our brain chemicals.
Fake Emergencies (Alerts)
I touched upon this in a previous post.
Social media companies design their platforms to be addictive.
And to keep us coming back for more they designed notifications.
Notifications give us a little emergency on a daily and often hourly basis. It’s a little reminder that we’re missing out on something seemingly important.
And the more we engage in social media the more alerts we get.
Facebook is notorious for this. They will alert you if you haven’t been on in a while. Miss a day or two on Facebook and they alert you to the fact that you’re in need of their drug.
Being aware of addiction to social media is an important step in using social media intentionally.
Understanding the Dopamine hit that takes place can help us to understand why we think it’s so important.
Using Social Media Intentionally
Now that we understand the toxicity involved in social media along with the addictive qualities it presents, let’s talk about using it intentionally.
Using social media intentionally has many of the benefits of actual human connection. Social media can open your mind to things you wouldn’t normally experience.
Using social media intentionally can simplify your life and reduce distractions.
Let’s look at a few ways to use it more intentionally and responsibly.
- Reduce Notifications. By reducing fake emergencies or notifications we can help stay within the present. Notifications are often a distraction and unnecessary. Notifications are a simple tool to lure us onto a site and aren’t that important. Ignore the noise by opting out of some of these.
- Reduce Groups. Facebook has a group you can join for everything under the sun. Unfortunately, many of these groups provide no value. Take a hard look at some of the groups you’re a part of and decide which ones are important.
- Limit Platforms. We don’t have to be everywhere. Sticking to one or two platforms can reduce the busyness caused by social media. Find the platforms that provide you with the most value and consider dumping the rest.
- Take A Break. Consider taking a 30-day break from social media altogether. You may just find it wasn’t as valuable as you thought.
- There’s An App For That. Consider Apps that limit usage. Apps such as Offtime can track social media usage and limit the amount of time you spend on them. (Disclaimer — I have not used or tested this App and this is not an endorsement, only a suggestion)
- Use Scheduling Tools For Business Pages. If social media is part of a job or business consider using scheduling tools to reduce time on site. Most platforms offer some sort of way to schedule posts which can save a ton of time. This is a good way to create more free time away from social media while remaining active.
- Be Mindful Of Usage. If you look around, you’ll see most people scrolling through their phones whenever they have some sort of free time. Scrolling is the new smoking and almost as obnoxious. Simply don’t log on or schedule set times during the day to check social media. Find other things to do.
- Block The Negative. Some of the things we see and some of the people we deal with on social media create a negative experience. Consider blocking trolls and opting out of certain advertisements and types of posts. Social media should be enjoyable and stress-free. If social media is stressing us out, then why are we using it?
- Beware Of What You Post. Controversial posts and opinions are usually two-sided so prepare or at least understand that you may cause unwanted arguments. Now it’s up to you to decide whether to engage in an argument but if you don’t desire trolls and mean-spirited comments, be mindful of what you post.
- Remain Private. We don’t need to post every single detail of our lives. Some things should be kept to ourselves. Social media is not the best place to dump your feelings or air out your dirty laundry.
Final Thoughts
Like most things, social media is fine in moderation and it’s up to the individual user to browse responsibly.
Social media shouldn’t cause stress, interfere in everyday life, or clutter up what otherwise would be an optimal life experience.
Many people find themselves happier purging their lives of social media altogether.
Others find it to be an essential tool to connect with others.
It’s up to you to decide if it creates value or not.
Using social media intentionally is the key to making it useful without disrupting other meaningful things in our lives.
Thanks for reading. For thoughts and comments hit me up on Twitter.