Proven Tips for Meaningful Engagement and Personal Growth
Social media, like most other things in life, isn’t inherently good or bad – it’s how we use it that gives it power.
While we know that social media has great impact in terms of:
Connectivity – access to tools and resources we might not otherwise have engagement with
Community – keeping in touch with old friends and creating new friendships
Career – free learning and employment opportunities
We also know that it has been linked to an increase in:
Depression and anxiety
General addiction
Body image dissatisfaction
It is our choice and our responsibility, then, to create our own experience on our preferred platforms. Here are some ideas for using social media to your advantage:
It’s called “social” media for a reason – when we use it to connect us and create community, we feel good! We get inspired, we learn, we even make new friends! Create a goal to connect with a set number of people each day on your own social media channels, either to create new friendships or enhance the ones you already have. You can like, follow, comment, message and share your way to a more robust system of connections!
Be intentional! The average person spends just over an hour a day on social media, and that is solely consuming (not creating) what is on their app. Some of the most common feedback I hear about social media is that it is a time suck and that people aren’t even aware of picking up their phone, opening their social media app of choice and scrolling aimlessly before 20 minutes has passed along with time they won’t get back! Being aware of curbing the mindless scroll and converting your social media time to intentional engagement will increase the value you receive from these platforms. It will keep your time productive and help you to avoid the time suck. If you like to “just scroll”, set your phone timer for 10, 15 or 20 minutes and allow it but when that timer goes off, stop the scroll!
As both a content creator and consumer on social media, I am very aware of my own habits and I also pay close attention to the habits of my connections. One of the biggest trends I see is that of Contribution versus Consumption. There are so many resources for advice, solutions, tips, freebies, insights and more – and while post impressions may be high, interaction is low. Most people use social media as a vehicle for Consumption when they would find so much more value if they switched their approach to Contribution! Creating a two-way dialog on social media is much more valuable to both the creator and consumer because it links them as community, creates a conversation and will help to drive more valuable content based on what is being contributed and discussed. Actively contributing is much more engaging and compelling than scrolling from the sidelines.
Curate your feed. Fill your search, follows and likes activities with topics, people and pictures that you are drawn to and make you feel good. This will train the algorithm to show you more of that. The opposite is true, too: if you don’t like something or someone, disengage!
THINK before you comment, share, message – is it True? is it Helpful? will it Inspire? is it Necessary? is it Kind?
By committing to more intentional engagement with social media, you will increase its value to yourself and others!