A Necessary Evil?
Social media plays a large role in most businesses. It’s hard to deny the appeal of “free advertising”. It can, unfortunately, become quite toxic for so many of us.
What’s going on? What is leading to a decline in mental health and wellness? Is social media to blame?
I have a few thoughts…
- Unfiltered
Social media seems to be a space where knee-jerk comments and responses are the norm. It seems people are much less kind to eachother when there is no repercussion of seeing the pain on anothers face or becoming aware of how their words affected the other party. Comments range from scathing to abusive, judgemental to racist. How does one internalize that type of “feedback”? Well, it takes a toll.
- Production
The pressure to produce content and to have a perfectly curated feed can be overwhelming. The “experts” are telling us how many times a day to post, interact and comment. We have become machines. At what cost? Are we putting adequate efforst into the other areas of our business that need pruning and care? Sometimes it’s all just too much for one person to handle.
- Comparison
Indeed, it is the thief of joy. Kind of hard not to compare yourself to other accounts that seem to have it all together and the highlight reels send us into a tailspin of self loathing and helplessness. But, don’t forget, those numbers can be purchased, and often are. Those highlights aren’t showing all of the things that went wrong. We all bring something different to the table, have different strengths and weaknesses and recognizing YOUR strengths have nothing to do with other trainers on social media. My favourite? MUTE ACCOUNTS YOU COMPARE YOURSELF TO! Hide them. Don’t look at them 🙂
- Drama
Early on I can freely admit I was entangled in some online drama. I saw a cycle though and I changed my behavior knowing that emotionally, I just couldn’t handle it. It was impacting my mental health and the work that I love. I won’t give you a cookie cutter solution because sometimes drama happens and we cannot avoid it, especially if we are standing up for ourselves and animals in the face of abuse. Before I comment on ANYTHING, I ask myself:
- Will the poster or audience be receptive to my words?
- Are my words helpful?
- Can I emotionally handle repercussions if they were to arise?
- Is it rude, unkind or unhelpful for me to engage?
These questions have helped me immensely. I hope you find some balance when using social media in your business. It can be a useful tool when used thoughtfully.
