How to Audit Your Social Media For Your Mental Health.

Does your social media feed leave you scrolling endlessly, feeling depressed, or less-than? Do you feel the pressure to keeping creating content, and never stop to wonder what social media is doing for you? Oftentimes, I feel the exact same. Social media can be A LOT — a lot of good, or a lot of bad. A lot of inspiration, or a lot of comparisons. Lucky for us, we have the power to curate our own feed to fit our needs. I repeat these steps every month (double that on election years) to reset my social media feed to make me feel HOW I WANT TO FEEL.

I like to think of my feed as my own little room that I don’t have to share with anyone. I can put anything on the wall or take anything down and don’t have to answer to anyone. It so easily can shape our thoughts and feelings that it is super important to Marie Kondo your digital space so it can help you be your best you. Here’s three questions I ask myself when I’m curating my space.

Does it spark joy?

Sorry, Marie Kondo is just a genius and I won’t stop talking about her. And just like “the funnies” are apart of every newspaper, it’s okay to follow things that just make you laugh! Don’t feel guilty spending a little time laughing at Tik Toks or sending memes to your siblings. It can be a little rest routine even, to sip some coffee and let your brain relax for a moment. But, if you’re like me and have a liiiiittle problem with self control, you might consider setting a timer so you can pull yourself out of that space, too.

Does it make you feel inspired?

The best accounts to follow are the ones that will make you put down your phone. Follow painters who post time-lapse videos of their work. Follow food bloggers who make you want to drop everything so you can go to the grocery store and make their recipe for dinner tonight. Follow gym gurus who make you excited to get moving without first reminding you of what you’re lacking. Follow people who bring you shame-free inspiration and your social media will be a much happier place.

Does it educate you?

This one is important. One of the most amazing things about the internet and social media is that we have the entire world’s wealth of information (and misinformation) in our pocket. Which means our worldview is no longer limited by our geography, our personal circle, or financial status. So cool, right?? These first two questions are centered around feeling happy or inspired, which is super important, but this last one can sting a little bit. Remember, just because the facts a new educational account are posting makes you feel uncomfortable (especially regarding racial inequality), doesn’t mean you should unfollow it. In the same way as working out might make you sore, you end up stronger (read: a better person) in the end.

A few quick questions to ask regarding an educational account, for me are:

Do I trust this account to not feed me misinformation? (aka: have I researched any of these posts to make sure they are true?)

Did I learn how to be a more compassionate person after following this account?

Do I have more resources than I did before to continue learning about this subject?

Does this account only confirm my personal beliefs without challenging me at all?

Take a little time as often as you need to go over these questions, and brighten up that big space in that tiny screen. Comment your favorite accounts to follow and why you love them below! I promise to check each and every one of them out.