Last week on the blog Kim discussed social media anxiety. This week it’s Rachael here, and I have some tips on how to optimize your social media settings to improve your mental health.
What should you do when you are scrolling through your social media feed, and you come across posts that leave you feeling worse than you did before reading them? It’s worse when it’s your friends or family who share things that make you uncomfortable, or when pages or groups you otherwise enjoy share content that you don’t want to see. You might feel hesitant to “unfriend” friends and family. You might just be feeling overwhelmed by negative news stories in the moment.
The good news is, you don’t have to suffer through seeing posts that make you uncomfortable or anxious. Many social media platforms offer options for optimizing what you see in your feed. Read on for strategies to help you stop doomscrolling and start experiencing more of the positive effects of social media!
Optimize Your Social Media Settings: Change the Settings for Your Friends Or Connections
Every social media platform has its own settings, so here are general tips to explore on your favourite site or app.
Completely unfriending someone may feel like a drastic action. The good news is, you can reduce or change how much content you see from a specific person or page. Some words to look for in your settings include:
Unfollow: On Facebook, this setting removes a person’s posts from your feed but you stay as friends.
Mute: More specific to Instagram and Twitter, this a setting that will remove their posts from your feed but the image of the relationship maintains intact as you are still following them.
Block/unfriend (Facebook) or unfollow (Instagram and Twitter): This is the setting that removes you from their friends/followers and blocks their posts/contact.
While blocking/unfriending is the most permanent and drastic of these three options, it can be great if you find someone is sending you lots of private messages that impact your mood in a negative way, or if you find your values and interests no longer align with a page you are following. Sometimes we do need to use the “Block” option!
When deciding whether to block, unfollow, or mute someone, it is important to remember you don’t owe anyone any explanation, nor do you need to justify your decision. You are taking charge of your mental health and the impact social media has on it.
Optimize Your Social Media Settings: Look at the Post Settings
If you don’t want to change the settings of your relationship with a person on page, often you have options you can change on the negative post itself. Look for three little dots on the post itself, and see what options you have for hiding it. Here are some words to look for:
Snooze: This option is great if you don’t want to stop seeing posts from a person/group/page forever, but you feel you need a break. “Snoozing” will temporarily stop these posts from showing up on your feed for a set amount of time.
Hide: Hiding a post will keep it from coming up again in your feed if other people you know comment or interact with it. This can be a great option for a post that turns into a long debate.
Mute words or hashtags: Perhaps, you notice there is a certain topic or hashtag you are tired of seeing. For example, you might need a break from posts about COVID. You have the option to hide/mute/filter out these types of posts, which tells the app to block posts that include that word, or have similar content. While it may not be perfect, it will decrease the frequency you see posts related to the topic.
Reduce Your Overall Social Media Use to Improve Your Mental Health:
If you find that you are spending far too much time scrolling through social media, you can:
- Turn off notifications for the app (this can be done in your phone settings).
- Delete the app completely (it can always be re-installed later)
- Try setting time limits. Most phones nowadays allow you to set timers or limits for how much you use a specific app.
Embrace the Positive—Chase the Sunshine!
One last tip to help improve positivity in your social media is to chase the sunshine by following pages dedicated to motivational posts, things that make you feel good all the time, or following pages that are dedicated to mental health (such as our Dochas page on Facebook and Instagram). I find so much joy in interacting with posts about beagles, so for me it helps to join beagle groups and get more of that kind of content! What do you love? Try following some people or pages that connect you to these things.
As always if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us at info@dochaspsych.com. We’re here for anyone looking for a little professional help navigating social media anxiety or other life situations.
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Key Takeaway:
Don’t be afraid to remove upsetting or negative content from your social media feed through app, profile, or phone settings. Curate your social media experience into a positive one!
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About Dóchas Psychological
Dóchas Psychological Services is a well-established and trusted therapy clinic located in Spruce Grove, Alberta. At Dóchas we value the idea that everyone deserves a safe space. Through connection and education, our team works hard to build a trustworthy relationship with each of our clients. It is our goal to create a community for our clients to feel like they belong.
Disclaimer
Information provided through Dóchas Psychological Services blogs or vlogs is meant for educational purposes only. They are NOT medical or mental health advice. You can read more about our disclaimer here.
