As summer is upon us, we are all feeling the heat. Whether that's actual heat, or just the heat of social pressure is the bigger concern. Reduce your summer social anxiety and 'unplug' with this first episode of The Social Health Initiative Podcast.
It is summertime, and for most of you that means you are no longer surrounded by your peers every single day in a building. How are you going to stay relevant? It is only a natural question to ask.
The answer to that question, my friends, is social media. It's the only way to be cool these days, right?
For those thinking that is a highly dangerous mindset, you would be correct. Not only is social media "the only way to be cool", but it is also one of the leading causes for our world's mental health crisis.
Despite this, I have some good news for you: You can still be cool without falling into social media's trap, and it all starts with what I like to call 'unplugging'.
Here are my healthy social media rules to live an "Unplugged Summer"(aka how to still be cool but not get trapped by social norms):
Rule 1: Separation
The most immediate solution to unplugging is separating yourself from your devices. For me, this looks like leaving my phone in a different room at night, leaving it at home on short errands, and keeping it turned off when taking in other media, such as movies and TV.
It is also important to think about this when it comes to driving. Consider keeping your phone in the glovebox, in a bag, or power it off.
When you separate yourself from your phone you will grow to be more relaxed without your phone and worry less about notifications and other distractions.
Rule 2:
Ah, yes, the infamous Snapchat and Tik Tok. My biggest tip to unplug this summer is to simply delete them both. From personal experience with the platforms, there are plenty of apps out there accomplish the same tasks without the toxic culture.
Making the decision to delete these apps can be difficult as they are the hub for most internet activity, but they are also the most dangerous when it comes to safety and addictiveness.
Rule 3:
Mindful sharing is a huge part of media health as it not only helps YOU be more meaningful with your use of social platforms, but you are also helping OTHERS by making your content more personable.
The key to mindful sharing is thinking about how you everything you want to post will affect your followers. Keep your posts real and relevant to ensure you leave a positive impact on those you are influencing.
Stay away from selfies, photoshop, and bland captions. Instead, tell a story with your captions and post images that reflect you and not an idealized version of yourself. This takes practice, but you feel better about yourself and your social media usage in he long run.
The tips don't stop there! They continue and go in depth in the full length episode that is available below:
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