When you finally finish that comprehensive report at work, you sit with a cup of coffee and your phone, to take your well-deserved 10-minute break. You start scrolling through social media sites as you sip on your coffee. When your neck starts hurting from looking down on your phone, you look up and realize it’s been 1 hour! This is not the first time this has happened. Research has demonstrated time and again the addictive nature of scrolling through social media. The curiosity and uncertainty attached to the next post in line instigates us to mindlessly keep scrolling!
Instead of mindlessly scrolling through posts, it’s important to be mindful about what we are engaging in and how it might be influencing us. Mindfulness is about being present and aware of our thoughts, emotions and sensations and being intentional in our behavior. With increased exposure to all kinds of information, there is an unwillingness to think critically about what we are consuming. Absent-mindedly engrossed in the moment, we may not realize how that information impacts our perception towards a particular subject. However, when we are using social media mindfully, we give ourselves a chance to critically question and process information more appropriately. We might think about the credibility, truthfulness and the extent to which the posts evoke a positive or negative emotion.
The innovation of social media has been revolutionary! It makes it very convenient for us to stay connected with our friends and family who may be on the other side of the world. It increases our accessibility to all categories of information. It lets us build online communities, bringing in more social support. It provides a platform for self-expression. Social media has also increased employment opportunities for many, and supported businesses grow! There is no denying that there are several benefits of social media!
At the same time, however, there is no denying that social media use comes with its fair share of problems. It rapidly spreads fake information promoting stigma and stereotypes which can prove to be fatal for some. It can trigger negative emotions such as sadness, irritability, envy and anger when our personal posts aren’t well-received, poorly impacting our self-esteem. It allows people to spread negativity through cyber-bullying and trolling while maintaining their anonymity.
Considering both the benefits and drawbacks of social media, the question is not “should we stop using social media”, rather the question is “how can we best use it to avoid its harmful effects.” That is where we attempt to cultivate a mindful approach towards using social media.
Here are some ways to cultivate a mindful approach towards using social media:
- Set An Intention: This allows you to align your time with your values. These are some questions you should ask yourself: Who are you following? How do their posts make you feel? Is there something specific you want to find out?
- Clean Your Feed: We all tend to accept some friends that we may not know but coming across content that spreads negativity is not worth it. Consciously follow and accept only those that spread positivity and unfollow those that add no value to your life.
- Try To Stay Present: When scrolling through posts, try to observe how it makes you feel in the present moment without focusing on the past or future.
- Focus On Self-Expression Rather Than Validation: Be aware of the times when you start associating your worth to the number of likes you get. How many posts do you like and for how many posts do you actually press the like button? Sometimes people just don’t hit the like button even when they like a post. In fact, some people pay for those likes and shares, or get into a mutual agreement to share each other’s posts. Remember that your worth does not depend on what others think.
- Think Critically: When you are reading news articles trying to understand what is happening around in the world, it’s important to think critically about the information you consume. Assess the credibility of the information. Try to verify the information by checking other sources.
Conclusion
It’s going to be challenging to practice the mindful approach and would require self-refection. However, it is definitely worth an attempt to regain control of our selves instead of allowing social media to control us! The idea is to keep making conscious efforts and eventually it will be incorporated in our actions.
