Social media – help or hinderance?

Social media can be a great place to source information, connect with people with similar interests, catch up with friends…..

But it definitely has its downsides – one of which being that we can’t always control what we see. The algorithms pick up your interests based on which posts / accounts you interact with and then fills your feed with what it views as similar content.

But it’s sometimes easy to forget that social media is used as a highlight reel. People show you what they want you to see, and 9 times out of 10 that means they only share the positive parts of their world, often because this is a coping mechanism for the negative parts of their world.

What you see:

“Oh look at my lovely happy life which is all perfect…. “

Reality:

“I really just need to forget about how tired I am from my child not sleeping so I’ll share some cute pictures from the 5 minutes they weren’t crying”

What you see:

“Here’s my beautiful post workout Biscoff oats which I eat every single day after my training sessions to help me stay on track for my goals”

Reality:

“I trained once this week after a rough hangover from the weekend so I’ll better show this first healthy meal I’ve had all week”

So something I do regularly is have a look at who I’m following.

Not just people, but businesses and accounts; and questioning whether they add value to my day. Do they make me feel positive, enlightened or better in any way?

If not, then maybe it’s time to hit unfollow, or at least take a break.

So just try and be mindful when you read a story, view a post, or read a caption; how do you feel afterwards? And if the answer isn’t that you feel better about yourself or you feel empowered or positive; or if there’s any negative notes from it whatsoever; then ask yourself why you follow them and take action if needed.

Even if it’s temporary, or you just restrict their stories rather than unfollowing..

Social media can have a lot of benefits but there are obvious negatives.

So this is just a little tip that hopefully might help keep social media a more positive place for you!

If you’d like to see more of my positive lifestyle tips you can follow me on Facebook or Instagram

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Thanks for reading!

Kirsty xx

About the Author

Kirsty Prosser is a Network She Diamond Member and is a Level 3 Personal Trainer, Nutrition and Weight management coach based in a private, female-only gym and online – Kinetic Coaching and Nutrition