014: Healthy Social Media Practices
When you think of the words "Social Media" does it bring you feelings of joy, or does it trigger the heck out of you? Either way, co-hosts Maddie and Kaitlin have been on both sides of this struggle and totaaallly understand how you feel. Today's conversation between the two invites listeners to lean in as they talk allll about social media, including how it can steal, kill, & destroy how we see ourselves, how we can use social media to point back to Jesus, and even more dang good stuff.
TODAY’S EPISODE STARTS OFF WITH BOTH MADDIE AND KAITLIN EXPRESSING HOW PASSIONATELY THEY FEEL ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA AND HOW IT HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS. the co-hosts share that they have a lot of topics to cover so they are going to move section by section and talk about things.
topic one:
how long have maddie and kaitlin been on social media and how have they seen it evolve?
Kaitlin: her first form of social media was facebook in middle school, when she secretly created a page after her mom told her she couldn’t have any socials.
maddie: her first form of social media was myspace, the og, which mean that she would have been in middle school when she got it.
maddie shares that she has watched social media evolve in many ways, specifically just how many different forms of social media there are now and the world of social media is continually growing and expanding. but, she also shares that social media has become so much more than what it used to be as well. when myspace was the only form of social media people’s biggest concerns were about what number they were on a friend’s best-friend list. now, social media is an entire career for some people—it is their form of income and livelihood, but for others it is an outlet, a space to express themselves—or maybe even an overwhelming obsession that can become unhealthy.
kaitlin shares that she thinks social media is really cool because it can be positive in a lot of ways. you control who you follow and it has provided a way for people to meet others outside of their immediate space and embrace parts of life that they never knew existed.
social media is a way for people and creatives to express themselves and not suppress their creativity. for people like maddie and kaitlin, it has a provided a way for the two as entrepreneurs to build their businesses from the ground up by solely advertising on social media and by word of mouth.
topic two:
What are some negative aspects of social media?
it is easy to find our identity in our social media profiles. it is very easy to be pulled towards the mainstream ways of only showing the happy parts of life and having an identity crisis because who you are on social media is not who you see when you look in the mirror.
maddie shares that she has walked through exactly this in her own life and social media platforms because she wants to be open and vulnerable online but at the same time does not want to share all of the bad days or moments.
social media makes comparison entirely too easy. we all know that social media is a highlight reel, maddie and kait remind us every week, but that does not mean we do not continue to compare ourselves to the ones we follow on instagram, snapchat, Pinterest, etc. the apps on our phones hold so much power over how we feel about ourselves because of the people and profiles we follow on social media.
Topic three:
what are some healthy practices we can try to cultivate a healthier relationship with social media?
kaitlin kicks off this topic by being entirely transparent and saying that she has a very negative relationship with social media at the moment and she is fed up with how it makes her feel a lot of the time.
set scroll time limits on social media and the other apps you use the most.
maddie sets three hour limits on her social media apps and when she gets the notification that her time is up she has the option to choose more time, or to say “ok” and step away from socials for a while.
unfollow and/or mute people.
you are allowed to unfollow people. and if you don’t want to unfollow someone or feel like you can’t, utilize the mute button. if someone is triggering to you but is a member of your family or a close friend, mute them if that is more comfortable for you. you have to do what is best for you in every aspect of your life, even when it comes to who you follow on social media.
Be mindful of what you are sharing on social media and what your intentions are for what you post.
evaluate the posture of your heart before you take to social media. if you are feeling like you are in a bad place or are faking your personality on social media, then stop posting. screw social media schedules and the algorithm.
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Thank you SO much for being here. We hope you leave today feeling more encouraged than you were when you started listening and like you are a welcome part of this community— because you ARE.If you want to connect with us and other listeners in the Refined Sisterhood community, join our Facebook group here.
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Music : Better Than Life by Oliver Dodge