Social Media is a powerful, powerful thing.
It allows for people all around the world to show their thoughts, feelings, and art of many forms. It allows for people to connect and network and it’s a massive source full of resources and information.
Reality of networking
However, as wonderful as Social Networking is – whether that be Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter etc- I think we all, as a society, know how overwhelming it is to have access to trillions of thoughts and ideas of people around the world. Not only are people more vocal online – but they are very brave. That screen between us starts to feel paper thin when reading words that can seriously affect you mentally.
What do we do when Social media gets too much to handle?
This happens to a lot of us time to time when things take a deeper toll on our mental well-being. I know lots of people take a hiatus from social media during this period to check in with their mental health. First and foremost, If you can and are able to – turning it off all together for a good chunk of time really does help.
The internet can fester with insults, name calling, harmful opinions that weighs down and becomes too heavy on your soul. Comments, videos, difference in opinions can really break you down mentally and take over your happiness.
Those comments that hurt your heart deeply that become all that you can think about.
It takes over your mind and becomes your reality.
This type of thinking is too much to handle.
So, let's combat these times with some positive thoughts and reminders to help you get through:
You cannot fix the world
There will always be people out there that have different opinions than yours.
The world will always posses people out there that want to be “devils advocate” or speak to their truth which may be different than yours. And that’s okay.
It’s best to remember that there is no fixing these people, and reality is – You don’t have to.
Comments back won't change the minds of hatred
If someone is responding to something with hatred – they will never change their minds.
I promise you, their hate is strong and rich and it will sting and get under the skin of the sweet and lovely.
Do not waste your time – they will not change their opinion and it may hurt your heart.
It is not your job to change someones opinion of you - "their opinion in none of your business"
People are going to have opinions about you throughout your whole life. It doesn’t start or stop online.
It is not your job to remind people how amazing you are. It’s your job, however – to remind yourself how amazing you are.
Only you know the truth behind who you are.
They don’t know you, they never will. The only person that it matters that believes you are a great person – is you.
Pay attention to the good ones
It is SO easy to get lost in the negativity on the internet. Constantly seeing posts on your feed that contradict what you stand for can really put a damper on your mindset and it’s easy to think you are alone.
If your brain keeps focusing on bad posts – try and avert your attention to the ones that are good. Remind yourself of the good souls that understand and get you.
Mute anyone that hurts you
There is generally no reason to keep someone who doesn’t fuel your positive energy on your feed.
This is your feed. You have the power to pick and choose what you come into contact with.
If someone is constantly posting something that doesn’t serve you and your truth – MUTE ‘EM. Block them if you’re feeling super fancy.
But if you don’t want to go that far, just mute them for however long you feel necessary.
If you HAVE to be online do to your job, or for other reasons – try and stay on track and not stray.
Actively try to evert your attention to the task at hand.
Seek and it will be found
There will always be negative comments online. No matter what, there will always be people who do not understand.
If you see a video or post that attract controversy – odds are negative of some shape or form will be not too far behind.
In times of darkness, It’s best to keep away from comment sections or violent videos or controversial posts. You will 100% see something that hurts – so it’s best to look away and keep scrolling.
Wherever there is love - there is hope
Please remember that there are a lot of people who are trying. There are so many loving, caring, kindhearted people online that are doing their best to support you and the cause. They are trying to educate themselves and others.
I truly believe there are more good people in the world than there are bad.
If you want to hear more about my mindset on this, read my post about change with love called Remember who the true enemy is
Focus on your world vs the whole world
Social media is tough because it’s taking in so much of comments from people we don’t know. It’s easy to think the whole world thinks a certain way because we keep seeing these comments from select individuals.
The fact is, the world is massive and taking in all the different opinions can stack up heavily on your heart.
We cannot change the world, and we can hope and hope but It cannot change over night. It’s best to focus and surround ourselves with people who fill us up with love and joy and remind us that there’s love and positivity in our world.
Focus your attention on these people that light you up and give you hope and mute all the ones who don’t for now…or forever.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, Social Media is an endless pit of thoughts and opinions and energy.
If it’s getting too much to handle, it is OKAY to step away. It is OKAY to take a break. And it is OKAY to mute or unfollow individuals that do not feed your light.
Remember that you are strong. You are capable. And we will get through this. Together.
I totally agree there’s no time wasting with haters, you just have to keep moving forward!! Great tips.
I often find myself quoting Dory in these times! “Just keep swimming” !
This is a great post, love your tips for dealing with negativity. We can’t control how other people think but we can control how we react to it.
I appreciate that so so much, Leeandra! Thank you x You’re SO right – what a lovely way to phrase that. “We control how we react to it” – too true.
Thank you for this! I spend too much time on social media and sometimes you just have to walk away from it!
Thank YOU so much, Calie, for reading today <3 You are so right - sometimes it can be a lot to handle, so walking away can be so rewarding mentally.
Great tips! One of the things I always try to do is focus on the positive and just pretend the negative isn’t there. Out of sight, out of mind haha!
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
“Out of sight – out of mind!” Glorious tip, Anika ! Very underrated how powerful that system can be! Thank you so much for sharing with me x
I can’t stop myself from nodding continuously reading this page. I agree with your points, we can never change someone’s opinion, therefore we shouldn’t waste our time and continue scrolling where more positive people would appear.
Other than that, amazingly written. *Thumbs Up*
Owen, that is such a touching response. Thank you SO much. I honestly really respect that a lot. I totally agree with you – why waste on time trying to change people that do not want to be changed?
Thank you again!
I loved this post.
Social media as a whole has so many positives and negatives and I think sometimes the negatives tend to be louder than the positives but it’s all about learning to block it out, find the good and hold onto it. I often take a few days every month to completely disengage and just remind myself of what really matters to me !
Such great tips and so well written ?
You are so right, Nons. I agree 100%. The negative can be so so loud, but it’s all about focusing in on how much positivity there really is out there. I love that you take a few days to just step out of it all and I think that it’s really important to turn it off, sometimes!
Thank you SO much for those kind words!