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How to Use Social Media in a Healthy Way · RiseUp - Live Joy Your Way

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Today's episode is produced by my friends at Walk West.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_01: If you're looking to grow your brand and generate leads through podcast or video production, head over to walkwest.com.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's start the show.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Rise up, live joy your way.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: From emotional intelligence through cognitive distortions, certified life and wellness coach Comedy Wood is on a mission to help people see the magnificence of their own unique human spirit.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Through these small bites of self-visualization and self-confidence, you can have healthy relationships, success in business and career, and live the life you want to live.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Rise up, live joy your way.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Hi there, and welcome to another episode of Rise Up, Live Joy Your Way.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just wanting to take a moment to say whether it's morning, afternoon, or evening for you when you've chosen to tune into this episode, I just want to say thank you for taking some time out of your day to spend here with me.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: And today's topic is all about social media, or I should say a snippet of social media and how we can actually use social media in a healthy way through setting boundaries.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Now, let me just say at the very beginning that I'm not saying all social media is bad.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: So for many of us, social media has become a way that we can um potentially um sort of turn off, if you will.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: I know that I have been known to pull up an Instagram, Instagram and just kind of scroll for a few minutes, or actually, truthfully, I will scroll my Instagram and look for funny dog videos because they they actually make me laugh.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's a way that I will be able to just kind of zone out for a minute and do something that actually brings them, brings that emotion of happiness into my world.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: And and for many people, I think social media has become a pastime.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: Now, it's not all bad.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: There are definitely positive effects.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: The social media platforms themselves have allowed people to really truly express themselves, allowed their thoughts to have a platform, um, allowed individuals who might be really creative to post those things online as well.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, connection.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: Social media offers connection with other people.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: And if the pandemic taught us anything, it was that we are we are um creatures who need connection, right?
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: Humans, it's an innate need to be connected.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: And so social media offers that, of course.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: However, when we utilize social media without boundaries or without a um consciousness around how we're using it and what's happening when we use it, sometimes what happens is uh we start to see our emotional health declining.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Because as we if we just spend hours just scrolling through other people's posts, that can create a subconscious level of comparison, even if it's not, even if we're not actually having that inner dialogue, we're starting to compare ourselves.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so it can lead to anxiety, depression, lower self-esteem, and just maybe even feeling isolated.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it does the opposite of what social media is supposed to do, which is to bring people together and to connect.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: It could create a sense of isolation, of you know, I'm different.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, when we look at even adolescents and and uh teenagers as well as emerging adults for that matter, um, those individuals rely so much on social media to can communicate and to get their information.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: But what ends up happening is many of them can start having those negative effects as well as social media.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: So for instance, there is that sense of of fear of missing out or FOMO because what happens if you see different people posting different things, there could it could create that sense of or trigger the sense of anxiety or maybe sadness or or start um to create a sense of loneliness if you're seeing other people posting pictures together and you're not there.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it can definitely have an effect on your self-esteem, for instance, because if we're seeing how other people are living their quote unquote perfect lives, right?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because what's posted online may not actually be what's happening behind the scenes, but what we're seeing online without that, um without understanding what's happening behind the scenes, we then will inevitably start comparing ourselves.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like, oh my gosh, they they look so happy, and you know, I'm struggling with X, Y, and Z, X, Y, Z in my world.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, there was actually one study that said 60% of social media media users said it does hurt their self-esteem and made them feel like they were not good enough.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: And then there was also some research done internally by Facebook that showed that Instagram causes body image issues in teenage girls.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: I know that that had made headlines uh recently, so I'm not uh, you know, just in case you hadn't heard that, that there was an internal um research that had that was conducted that really did um indicate that that was a contributing factor to the rise in body image issues.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um so again, over usage of social media or usage without certain boundaries or awareness as you're using it can definitely lead to anxiety, depression, or hopelessness.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: I end up, I I work with a lot of emerging adults, and I know that college students have told me that when they are using too much social media, it definitely creates a sense of social anxiety.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then what ends up happening is that leads to other things such as depression or isolation.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then of course, it can also just disrupt sleep.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, if we end up having our sleep disrupted, that again is a contributing factor to other issues like depression or anxiety.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: So while it may not be social media that it's it may not be like this through line of social media and then anxiety, it could be social media usage, sleep disruption, and then the anxiety gets provoked.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, again, what drives us to it is because it allows us for connection.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it allows us to find information, it allows us to do things even like promote businesses.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: So we absolutely can use social media in a healthy way.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's just about how do we do that?
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: And and and I think that if we can set some internal boundaries, that's a way to balance it.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: So um, depending on what type of phone you have, there are also different apps that can just track your social media usage, which can just, again, if you're aware and you bring it to the awareness, then you can make a commitment to self of okay, what is the time limit that I'm gonna spend on social media?
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: And those apps can help track how often you're using social media.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's just a simple commitment to yourself of putting your phone away at a certain time for a certain amount of time during the course of the day, and then holding yourself accountable for doing exactly that, putting your your your phone up.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: It we could also even go as far as making um your bedroom as a social media free zone.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I know a lot of individuals that I work with say, well, Comedy, you know, my phone is my alarm.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: But maybe there's a commitment to self that I'm not gonna be scrolling on any type of social media platform when I'm in my bedroom.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: My bedroom is for purposes of actual sleep versus just doom scrolling or just scrolling in general on social media.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then of course it's it's paying attention to and pay and noticing how often you're just defaulting, you know, just like automatic thoughts.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: We have a default now with our phones because our phones are always in our hand to just automatically open up different apps.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: So start bringing that to your awareness and then making um conscious choices around how many times a day you're going to actually open the app.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: So instead of necessarily just tracking the time that you're on the social media platform, pay attention to how often you open it and maybe just make a commitment to self around how many times you're gonna go on or you're gonna open up that app on your phone.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe it's about moving the apps to a different screen.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know how you can you can move your apps into different buckets.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: You maybe it's not on the very first screen that you see on your phone.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, sometimes it's about just turning off the notifications so you don't see when somebody has posted something or sent you a message, but rather you just you have a commitment that I'm gonna check that at this time each day, or I'm gonna check that once or twice a day, versus every time you see the notification pop up or you hear it, you immediately go check it.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: So instead, it puts you in this generative place instead of a reactive place.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: So it is absolutely possible to create a better relationship with social media, and part of that is also asking yourself which apps, which social media platforms are are maybe contributing to um to anxiety or to maybe a sense of isolation or loneliness.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: And and maybe it's about taking a break from those apps.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: You can always remove an app from your phone, you don't have to delete your account, but maybe you just simply give yourself a break.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: Giving yourself these boundaries or setting these boundaries, these internal boundaries with yourself can absolutely create a healthier relationship with social media.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not about necessarily stopping social media, it's about how do I set these limits for myself, not because I'm punishing myself, but because it allows me to honor myself and as an act of self-care.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: Especially during the holidays, I find that this comes up a lot because when people are dealing with maybe some of their own uh narratives and stories or just social, um, sorry, family issues, as they start seeing other people posting on social media, it can cause uh anxiety or it can cause that's that sense of uh loneliness.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's another thing to just pay attention to is if maybe there's a time of year when you might need to slow down your the amount of time that you're on different uh social media platforms, honor that.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: Just recognize what the need is and honor it.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: If you would love like to chat with me at any point in time, feel free to book a time at chatwithcomedy.com.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: And until next time, stay well.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to Rise Up, Live Joy Your Way.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: For more information, book a chat with comedy at www.chatwithcomedy.com.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Or visit her website at www.comedywood.com.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: You can also find comedy on Facebook or Instagram.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: Username it's authenticme.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.