Hello, my gorgeous friends! I'm delighted to have you back at Camryn's Tea Time.
I just want to say thank you to all of you. I've been receiving a tremendous amount of support about my blog and mini Snapchat vlogs. It fills me up with joy to know I have a positive impact on your life and that my tiny corner of the internet gives you new insights to help you feel empowered and heard. Thank you so much for spreading love! Namaste.
My goal with this post is to change your relationship with social media. It's so easy to hate on it! It's a place where we get sucked into unrealistic expectations and experience FOMO. I'm sure at one point or another we've heard that social media is linked to anxiety and depression. And even after we experience negative side effects from mindlessly scrolling, we continue to do it anyway, again and again. It's so easy to wrap ourselves up in other people's posts, finding the perfect captions, and ignore the hurt we feel after zoning out in this digital world.
There's so much advice out there on how to handle social media anxiety. Go on social media detoxes. Time limits. Unfollow people that make you feel that you have to live up to unrealistic expectations. All of these are solid pieces of advice! I've personally found all of these techniques helpful, especially cutting down on social media time. But right now, limiting our screen time can be way harder. Social media is how we stay connected to others in a time of social distancing.
So how can we shift from social media anxiety to a meaningful social media experience?
1. Removing meaningless content from your feeds
Every time I log on, I look for people whose posts don't serve me and remove them from my feed. Let's channel some Marie Kondo vibes. Does this account spark joy? No? Remove them! If I'm not comfortable unfollowing someone I personally know, I mute their accounts.
It's also important to remove anyone that we compare ourselves to, even if it means unfollowing your face celebrities. Their social media accounts are always going to be there for you to visit, so there's no point in degrading your self-esteem by staying subscribed to them.
Notice every time you come across a post that makes you feel that you need to change or hide some part of yourself. Then, remove that content! Out of sight, out of mind.
2. Follow accounts that serve you
This quarantine has allowed me to explore new accounts that support mental health, share empowering content, and remind me I'm welcome to be whatever person I'd like to be. At the end of this post, I'll give y'all a list of the accounts that have been making my social media experience significantly better! If my suggestions don't work for you, that's totally okay. Just be sure to dedicate some time to find the best accounts for your social media feeds.
3. Knowing how much time you should spend scrolling
Some days, scrolling for a bit can help recharge you, by letting you escape the real world and explore a virtual one. Other days, it can completely drain you. Becoming aware of what your mental health needs can help you create a healthy relationship with social media. If you want to see a cute comic that explains this point, click here. :) Most of the time, I have strict time limits on my social, but I've actually found comfort scrolling on Instagram for long periods of time during this quarantine.
Know that your wants/needs from social media vary day to day and season to season. Sometimes scrolling mindlessly helps us relax, but other times, mindful scrolling might be what we need. What is mindful scrolling? I'm so glad you asked...
4. In my opinion, it's the most important tip that will completely change your social media experience!
Mindful Scrolling
Mindful scrolling is about being intentional with the time you invest in your screens. Now that you've cleared your feeds from negative energy, you're ready to connect with the content you're exposed to. One of my favorite influencers, Alison Faulkner, inspired this shift in my social media experience with this hilarious post. Watch the video. You won't be disappointed.
How to scroll mindfully:
Take some time, even if it's just one minute, to be completely present in what you're doing while scrolling.
Look at the picture you're seeing and really admire it.
Comment genuinely on each post you pass i.e. going beyond comments that say "cute!". Don't get me wrong, I comment "cute" all the time and receive that comment back. I feel cute. The other person feels cute. We're all cute! What I'm saying is to comment with the intent of lifting one another up and going above and beyond how we normally connect with one another.
Read every caption and soak up the positivity.
Appreciate the amount of good energy being put out into the world and take the time to continue spreading that goodness!
After going through this process, take a moment to notice how you feel. Did you enjoy this experience more? Did you learn something new? Did you make someone's day by saying something kind? Make a note of how different your mood is after mindfully scrolling.
I hope these tips will completely reconstruct your relationship with social media and lead to more meaningful experiences every time you open your phone. If you need some inspiration for positive feeds to follow, here are a few of my favorites!
Camryn's IG Recommendations for a Happier Social Media Experience!
~Alison Faulkner (as mentioned before)
Alison is so funny! I love her bubbly way of educating her followers on personal growth. Her laugh is contagious. I would also 10/10 recommend her podcast.
I'm obsessed with Rachel Hollis. If you ever need motivation, this is your go-to girl. Her IG is fantastic. Her podcast is phenomenal. Her blog is incredible. She's out of this world!
I've been a loyal Anna Victoria fan since high school. Even if fitness isn't your thing, she has so many inspiring stories and embraces body positivity. Her feed is so authentic. And she too has a podcast!
Everyone should be more educated on women's health!! This page is a must-follow. Learn how to take care of your body and thrive.
If you're working on healing your mind, I highly recommend checking this psychologist's page out. Get to the root of your anxiety.
Just by looking at the hashtag, you already know this page is good. # nedranuggets. I love it! She's a therapist with posts that help explain our tendencies and mental blocks.
You don't have to be a yogi to benefit from this page! Prepare yourself for eye-opening quotes and inspiration.
You probably recognize Chibird's iconic cartoons. Her little drawings are precious and gentle. If you want precious reminders about mental health and self-care, I highly recommend this page.
Want more suggestions? It would be my honor to recommend more pages to you, just reach out! Want a mindfulness social media page? I gotchu. Love dessert? Believe me, I can recommend a lot of pages for that. Fitness motivation? I can help with that too. Aesthetically pleasing pages? Heck yeah.
I would love love love to know what pages you all follow that bring light into your life! I'm always open to new suggestions for my own feed. Anything from cute little cartoons to motivational speakers.
Social media is a huge part of our lives these days. We shouldn't let our feeds control us. We control our feeds. We have complete control over what seeds we plant in our minds. Give yourself permission to feel empowered after mindfully scrolling and take the time to empower others every time you engage with a screen. Use social media as a tool!
If this post helped you at all, it would mean the world to me if you let me know. It always makes my day to know I've helped you in some way!
Please like, comment, and subscribe. Feel free to let me know about any topics you'd like me to discuss!
Lots of love,
Camryn