IS SOCIAL MEDIA TOXIC: BLOCK, DELETE, MUTE AND UNFOLLOW

First of, Happy New Years to my lovely readers!

QUICK FOREWORD: I have not updated my blog in a few months, and my last post was announcing that we were nominated for an AfroBloggers Award. We did not win the lifestyle category, but my Book Blog placed 3rd in the reviews category. So I am quite content with the outcome.

With the new year being in full swing, I thought I’d start it off with something that I can totally relate to. Social media and its toxicity. In late 2019, I had deleted all social media apps off my phone, because I felt it had become too toxic. I then re-downloaded them in early January, and have since deleted and re-downloaded the apps more than 5 times. I currently have 1 social media app on my phone, my Instagram.

What exactly is social media toxicity? People have described it as toxic because excessive use of it has resulted in the depletion of mental health, often leading to depression and anxiety. It has become a huge source of spreading fake news, exaggerating fact & fiction, and many have said it has made their Imposter Syndrome monster bigger than it ever needed to be. This especially said by teenagers and young adults. I am one of those many. Through the years of being on social media, I have seen its impact on my daily life off social media.

^{_{Scrolling for hours and hours everyday did nothing positive for me. And when I actually started realizing my mood changes and negative thoughts after I scrolled through my timeline, I realized just how much toxicity I was consuming. Some actually toxicity, others simply self-inflicted. Social media became unbearable for me during mid-2020, when all I saw was death (due to the pandemic).}}

And as important as I felt it was to be informed, I soon realized that I did not need to consume bad news every single day. I did not have to read everyone’s opinions on everything, nor did I need to see what every one was up to all the time. And again, I thought deleting my apps would be the answer. It was not. I would still see all that I was escaping from on the news and in newspapers.

After doing some internal work and confronting why I had no positive feelings after seeing what everyone was posting on social media, I finally understood that social media as a whole is not the problem. I am. The accounts that I chose to follow, the content I chose to engage with and how often I decide to do those thing were the actual problem. I have since unfollowed, muted, blocked and deleted certain accounts from my feed, especially on Instagram, being the app I use the most. I have also significantly reduced the time I spend on social media, and the number of times I actually open the apps. I personally enjoy social media and the connections you can make, and I am not at the point where I want to completely leave it.

What I’m trying to say is, I don’t think social media is toxic. I think it can be, but only if you allow it to be. People are toxic in their views, opinion and need to always say something. I have so much peace and joy in my heart whenever I am on my social media accounts these days. The content I see is motivational, inspirational and just offers me feel good vibes. And I think that’s what social media is supposed to be. A way to positively connect and keep up to date with people and content that you want to. I can safely say that I have curated my feed to ensure I only smile when I scroll through it.

What are your opinions on social media? Do you agree that it is toxic or do you think you can control what you see on there? Let me know in the comments.

xxValxx

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