It’s no secret that people spend an absurd amount of time on social media. Love it or hate it, most people find themselves scrolling down their Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn timeline and looking at Snapchats a lot more than they would like to admit.
These social media platforms give a sense of pressure of needing to do more with your life. I find myself feeling the need to improve my life after spending time on social media. Although there are sometimes negative ideas surrounding this topic, the effect of social media can in fact be positive.
People on social media are constantly sharing personal information such as job offers, pregnancies, grades, and travels. When you see a post about someone earning a job promotion on LinkedIn for example, you will probably begin to think about your own career and where you stand.
Seeing other people flourish in their careers on social media can have a positive impact on your own. Seeing competition will make you want to work that much harder. LinkedIn is also an app that allows users to share inspiring stories about becoming successful and how to be better person over all. Spending time on this app allows people to learn ways to better their life in and out of the workplace.
The same holds true with Instagram. I follow a lot of accounts that I feel motivate and inspire me to live a better life. Fitness accounts can push you to get up off the couch and become more active.
If you are constantly seeing how in shape and healthy these people are, you are likely to feel the need to better yourself. I love following fitness accounts to learn new workout routines and exercises.
Following accounts that feature traveling can also motivate you to life your life to the fullest. It’s easy to live life in a comfortable and routine way rather than living spontaneously and trying new things. Seeing people traveling on social media might make you realize that there is so much in life to explore.
Being motivated and driven in life is healthy, but it’s important to not become obsessed and jealous of these accounts and what you see on social media. Often times, the lives you are seeing on social media aren’t as perfect as they seem. If you go on the explore page, you have access to the photos of people that you do not follow.
These photos are usually from “Instagram famous” users that depict wealth, popularity, health and fitness, fashion, and success. People sometimes feel the need to have a life just as perfect as the ones they see through these apps. This is not realistic at all and can take a toll on your mental health.
Using social media to inspire you can be totally healthy. You may become more motivated to get good grades to find a high paying job that allows you to travel after following a travel page.
You might follow fitness accounts to motivate you to spend more time in the gym or follow fashion accounts that make you want to dress better. Everyone should use social media with this in mind, to make sure the content you’re engaging with inspires you rather than consumes you. In a digital age where everyone shares everything, social media definitely impacts how you view your own life.
But, sometimes it is good to take a break from all of the social media. Some professors have even encouraged students to delete their social media accounts after graduation so that they do not feel badly about themselves when people post about their fantastic lives.
Whether you decide to take a break from social media or not, just know that you can find motivation on and off of the screen. Follow that fitness guru or that world traveler. Find the motivation that you need to make your life great!
