“There’s no doubt that social media is growing more and more every day; and I think it’s safe to say that it’s becoming more and more impinging on our lives as it grows.

We constantly talk about the negatives of social media, how its claiming so much of our time and taking us out of the ‘now’ moments. But my take on it is a little different. I think social media is an awesome thing.

Something that can be hugely beneficial; for example, we now get to see real images and videos of places we may never see in person, learn things from different people specialising in different areas, share our own journeys in whatever we decide to pursue, and watch other people’s journeys too.

I think what we’re missing, is the correct use of social media. But how do we do that? Spending less time on it and not using our phones right before we go to sleep are all good answers, but I think there are other ways of creating more positivity within your feed than just that.

Here are some things that I’ve done this past year to help my mental health & wellbeing without just cutting social media out altogether:

1. Make an effort to only follow accounts & have friends on your social media who add value to your day-to-day life.

When you’re scrolling through your feed, and that one account pops up that seems to be negative more often than not, or goes against your values, now is the time that you unfollow/unfriend them.

The types of things that you see in your feed can really affect your emotions and your wellbeing. So every time you see something pop up that you don’t like, just click that unfollow button. You don’t need that negativity. I found that once I started doing this consciously every time I saw something/someone being negative on my page, Facebook and Instagram feeds became a much kinder place to be and it had a huge positive effect on my overall mood and motivation.

2. Try to have self-control when it comes to time on social media.

This is a simple one. Set a timer before you sit down and scroll. Or set an alarm for a certain time so it reminds you to come back to reality and get on with your day or go to bed. You’re just going to have to be strong with yourself.

3. Pick 3 things associated with who you want to be and follow accounts that resonate with those things.

If you want to make better habits and become more productive, go follow some pages that post content based on those things. If you want to start reading more, find some accounts that do book reviews or book suggestions. Want some more motivation? Follow some pages that post motivational quotes. It’s really that easy to tailor your content to yourself.

Social media can be a really helpful tool and something that can motivate you, teach you and entertain you all at the same time. It’s up to us to use it the right way, it all comes down to the choices you make and who you let influence your life.