Most social media use is a tragic waste of life. But not all of it. If used properly, these apps can be incredibly beneficial for our social and professional lives. Achieving a balance is tricky, but this list of practices will help you reach it.
Clarity is the key.
Understand the purpose that each social media platform has in your life. These platforms usually want to be everything (e.g. Facebook with events, dating, marketplace, groups, friends…) But you probably only care about a subsection of these, and get taken away by other contents. Clarity is the key.
Use social media to strengthen social connections, not to consume media. Social media has shifted from being about friendships, to being about passive entertainment. Use it like the old days.
Amplifying social connections means creating more opportunities for real life hang-outs, not more digital interactions. Remember: Real World Interactions > Calling > Messaging > Liking Each Others’ Posts
Figure out how often you need to use it to feel up to date. For example, for me, I have fully internalized that I only need to check Instagram once a day for a few minutes to be up to date with what my friends have been doing.
I have clear technology rules about it, and I check Instagram once a day after 19:00. I check it at night as using social media makes me less able to focus afterwards.
Don’t trust the algorithm, curate your own feed
The algorithm is very good, and is getting better every day. The sad part is that it does not aim to maximize your wellbeing, but your time spent (read, “wasted”) on the app. So curate your own feed, and avoid those made by the algorithm.