How to be more social media savvy

Don't be a slave to the bell

I think most of us have heard of Pavlov's dogs experiment where Pavlov presented a stimulus (the sound of a bell) and then fed the dogs, after a few repetitions the dogs started to salivate merely at the sound of the bell.

It's a bit like that with social media, we don't even need to look at our phone; we hear the notification bell and we're  like "ooh, has someone 'liked' me".

 Don't get me wrong, I'm not averse to surfing the social media sites and I think it's a great platform for both business and pleasure, and that's the point I want to make today - social media has to be used in the right way to gain the most benefits.

We often misinterpret what we see on social media, for example, it tends to give the impression that everyone we know are in great relationships, take 5-star vacations around the world every other week and are generally 'winning at life'.  We know in our rational minds that this simply isn't true but yet we still get drawn into that way of thinking,  That's why the downside of social media is often linked to increased anxiety, depression, envy, loneliness, narcissism and decreased social skills.
We need to think about we interact with social media and, as a starting point, you can ask yourself these two questions:
  1. Are the posts and comments you receive aligned with your best interests?
  2. Are you posting and commenting in line with your own integrity? 
It's easy to forget that every time we interact on social media, we're still communicating with human beings and we can very easily make these people feel positive or negative about themselves.  THINK before you type!  

The same applies when you're searching social media for information or simply for pleasure, if something doesn't make you feel good about yourself then don't interact with that site or person.  YOU are in control remember.
  • Only interact with those sites / people who make you feel more positive.
  • It's not the quantity of friends and contacts you have on social media, it's the quality of those friends and contacts which is important.
  • Block any sites / people who are negative towards you / others.
  • If you're having a bad day then stay clear of social media, turn your phone off and go and talk to a positive person face-to-face.
So how can we use social media in a more positive way?  The following are just a few examples:

  • Have real-time chats with friends on the other side of the world.
  • Find a new job.
  • Share information about your business.
  • Provide / receive support from like-minded people.
  • Find out information on new products and services.
Social media is like everything else in life, it's a fabulous tool when used in the right way.  On that note, I'm off to search for pictures of cute fluffy bunnies!


#joyfuljune  






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Time Management ... why there's no such thing

Image
  We can't 'manage' time; but we can manage ourselves You hear so much about 'time management' , there's 1000's of courses dedicated to the subject.  In reality though, we can't 'manage' time, it's going to pass regardless, the same 24 hours every day.  However, we CAN   'manage' ourselves, our tasks and our interruptions each day.   We have a love / hate relationship with time depending on what we are doing at that moment, we complain when it goes too fast, too slow, we blame external factors and other people for 'wasting our time' . In order to truly control how we use our time wisely, we must first of all look at our own personal energy levels. TIME                         vs                         ENERGY                           ...
Read more

Amazing April

Image
Why hello there and welcome to Amazing April - strap yourselves as we enter Q2 of 2022!! Throughout Q1 we set the foundations, tone and theme of what we wanted our year to look like.  We made a few adjustments, did some resets along the way and set up our systems and routines.   In Q2, we're going to go a little bit deeper into those goals and put some more context around them. Take a moment to think about the goals, habits and routines you have put in place ... do you know WHY you are doing them?  Yes, yes, of course you do, don't you?   Let's look at an example of one of my health goals: "Incorporate daily stretching into my routine" That's all well and good but WHY do I want to do that? It will help me become more flexible - nah, not good enough It will help prevent tight muscles - hmm, keep going "Incorporating daily stretching into my routine will help prevent tight muscles, allowing me to run more freely and ultimately will stop me being in excruc...
Read more

Making assumptions when it comes to age

Image
I've been thinking about ageism quite a lot recently and how it can affect us, and no, before you accuse ME of being ageist, I'm also referring to how it affects young people too.  In fact, it can affect many age groups - children, teenagers, adults, senior citizens.  Obviously, most of this blog will feature on ageism from my point of view and the age I am now because that's simply where I'm at right now. Think back to when you first started out in your career, no doubt you were anxious, nervous, self-conscious and worried that you wouldn't be taken seriously and that other people would think you had no experience or knowledge As you get older, you start to experience very similar feelings, anxious, nervous, self-conscious and worried that people will also be thinking you've lost your drive and ambition and that you're not up-to-speed with how fast technology is moving and such like. Before I started in my current role, I went for an interview at another co...
Read more