My question to you- is your social media working for you? On average people spend 2 hours a day on social media. Are you being passive and passively consuming media that pops up in your feed? Or are you CREATING your experience?
Have you ever heard, "you are who your friends are"? I love that. I also love, "you are the sum of your closest five friends."
I'd suggest that also, YOU ARE THE MEDIA YOU CONSUME.
My social media platforms of choice are Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, in that order. And I actively create my experience through who I choose to see and interact within my news feeds. What you see on social media enters your subconscious and shapes you in ways you don't even know.
You should follow social media that fuels your passions and drives you to meet your goals. Examples:
1. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, should you be following a bunch of frat pages, and friends who post about partying and drugs? Probably not. You'd be better served by following successful, uplifting companies with great marketing campaigns you could learn from.
2. If you want to be a good husband, should you be following a bunch of half-naked Instagram models? Probably not. Maybe follow a travel page, and get some vacation ideas for your wife!
3. If you want to be happy, should you be following a bunch of people who complain and whine about the world we live in? Probably not, the world is here to stay. Follow some people who bleed HAPPY.
Inbox me, and I can make you one of my examples and offer you ideas about what kind of pages you should be following, based on your goals.
Put your social media consumption to the test-
EXERCISE:
Here is how you can tell if your social media SERVES you, or if you are a VICTIM to your social media.
Open your Instagram or Facebook news feed. Look at the very first post and tell me how it serves you.
Is it a funny cat video? If so, does that make you happy? If Y, then it's serving you. If N, then unfollow.
Is it news? If so, is it an outlet that you believe in and support, and does it serve you? If Y, then great. If N, then unfollow.
Is it a picture or post that makes you feel insecure, unhappy, jealous, annoyed, mad, put off etc? If Y, UNFOLLOW. If N, then tell me how it is serving you.
I'll let you in on a little secret. You have chosen to follow that media! It is in your feed, because you allowed it to be there. Follow people, pages and accounts that serve your needs in this life. Life is short, and you spend a lot of time on social media. Make it count.
Social media platforms have a super special feature, called UNFOLLOW. Use it! You don't even have to unfriend people or pages. You can simply turn off their posts.
I started noticing a few years back that the pages and people I were following were affecting my mood, and not in a good way. In college I was following a lot of friends, good people, who were posting about parties, booze, brunch, and all the good stuff that comes with college. But what I realized was that it was not serving me. I am outgoing and driven, and I needed some more influences in my life that were going to inspire me to get that master's degree, pursue that dream job, encourage and lift me up.
So I cleaned out my media! It is really as simple as unfollowing all of those accounts, and then actively following people who inspire you. Something that serves me may not serve you, or vice versa. So ask yourself.
Thank you for choosing to consume the media I create! I hope I serve you in some way and make you better for it. Seek accounts and people that make you better.
See more: read my senior seminar on "Social Media in Monogamous Relationships"