Social media is becoming very overwhelming these days. There’s topics that are becoming more actively spoken about and those topics can be rather triggering. Some people might need to take a social media break and some people feel completely fine to carry on using their accounts as normal. All reactions are valid and you’ve got to do what’s best for you.

Personally, social media is my life. I don’t have many friends or family so social media is how I talk to people and see what is happening in the world. If I take that away from myself then I would probably feel completely lost. That’s what I decided to be more mindful of my social media uses.

Whether you find social media triggering or you just want to be more aware of your social media usage, mindfulness practises are important for anyone online.

Know your intentions

Logging into social media and seeing all that content on your screen is exciting. Yet, if you don’t know what you want to do with your social media account then it can be easy to get overwhelmed. By knowing what you want from your social media accounts then it is much easier to turn your space into a positive one.

Set time limits

Social media can very easily consume all of your time. If you’re anything like me, you’ll wake up and start scrolling and then suddenly realise that you’ve been scrolling for a whole hour and you didn’t even notice. I recommend setting time limits so you know how much time you are spending on social media. You can do this to stop yourself from spending too long on the app, or you can do it so that you don’t allow yourself on social media during certain hours. You can set these limits to create your own peace of mind.

Remember everything is exaggerated

You can be whoever you want online and you can share anything you want. This can be great but it also means that people will be wanting to show the best and most over-the-top sides of themselves. People might be sharing their accomplishments and showing how great they are doing in life, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t face struggles too. Don’t compare yourself to someone else online.

Only follow what you wish to see

With all the ‘follow for follow’ and ‘follow back’ things going on, it’s easy to get into a trap of following too many accounts. I know that this happens because I’ve been there. I went through a phases of making sure that I followed everyone back. It was nice because I felt like I was making other people feel good but it meant that my feeds were messy and I followed accounts that didn’t make me feel good. Now that I’m unfollowing the accounts that I don’t care about, my feeds are full of positivity and things that I enjoy seeing. It’s always worth spending a little time to make your feeds a more positive and fun place.

Post what you would like to see

Sometimes there’s pressure to talk about certain topics or share certain photo types on social media, but please don’t let yourself feel pressured to post that kind of content. Your feed is yours and it should be a positive space so make sure that you post what you enjoy. Enjoy traveling? Post travel photography. Enjoy gaming? Post gaming screenshots. Enjoy collecting stamps? Post your collection. Just post what makes you happy.

Take a break if you need to

Although social media is great, sometimes there’s nothing that can be done other than to take a break. If you need to take a break then that is okay. Your account will be there when you wish to come back and you can come back with a new mindset. You need to do what is best for your wellbeing.

How do you make your social media into a positive space? Do you try to be mindful of your social media usage?