Monday Motivation: Ready, Set… Block/Unfriend/Unfollow!

So social media can be a gift and a curse, amirite?

As someone who is in grad school, and feels like they never have any time to connect with their friends IRL, social media is a great way for me to still feel like they are a part of my life.

But real talk, social media after a certain period of time can also be really toxic and draining as well. Many of us forget during our late-night scrolling sessions that the happy and glamorous photos of our friends living their best life is literally just a snippet of a long day that probably included many ups and down. Many of us forget that social media is a curated experience, and if we spend too much time on it, we often start comparing ourselves to other people in very unfair ways, or worse--  experience feelings of isolation and exclusion.

“Why didn't anyone invite me? Do they not like me anymore?”

“I never look that good in a dress.”

“Has everyone just gotten skinny lately except for me?”

And our inner insecurity monsters just go on and on.

When we spend too much time on social media everyone's life suddenly becomes a reason as to why our lives are no good, and worse--  why we shouldn't even bother to try, and do anything about it because our photos will never look as good, or our vacation will never seem as fun, and so on.

So as we take a moment to reimagine our Monday, and think about how we can take more control over the feelings of inadequacy that we might experience scrolling through social media, I encourage you to try and set time boundaries for how long and how often you'll be on social media.

If you're an iPhone user, then the latest iOS update has a new app limits feature that allows you to block access to a certain platform after a designated period of time.

If you're a Chrome user, there is an extension called Block Site that you can also download as well.

I would also take some time to review who you're following as well. Do you tend to follow people/accounts that make you feel better or worse about yourself? Do you scroll this week,  take some time to be mindful about how the post on your feed make you feel. In the spirit of last week's Monday motivation, it might be time to do some social media exfoliation as well.

And always remember that your social media feed is yours. So you are under no obligation to follow someone that makes you feel less than (even if they are family… thank God for the mute button)!