Social Media Fitness - All in the Mind - Dr Sangeetha Madhu and RK Shivani

Social Media Fitness

Social media platforms are online services that help you build and maintain social connections and networks. This area of technology has witnessed a steady growth since 2008. Individuals across the globe have gained means to enhance life, increase awareness and stay connected to provide and receive various services.

However, a recent study found that individuals spend an average of at least 3 hours per day on social media platforms. About 80% of them stated that this time was spent engaging in activities unrelated to their job and was, in fact, a distraction from the same. Social media has also limited instances of direct communication and team productivity.

Being aware of some indicators that you might be overusing or using social media improperly, on an individual level, is important. These might include going online for work-related productive reasons and finding oneself on social networking sites instead, a constant urge to check your account despite knowing there are no notifications and spending time on social media in real-life social situations. From this perspective, the benefits of limiting social media usage would primarily be mood upliftment and an increase in time and productivity.

Simple ways to limit or modify social media use to achieve would be as follows:

1. Setting time limits or duration for use of each application
2. Turning off notifications so that these are checked only at a designated time
3. Curating the feed and unsubscribing to content that has a negative impact on mood
4. Scheduling posts for designated times at the beginning of the day
5. Using autoresponders when you are away

Dr Sangeetha Madhu , a clinical psychologist and Leadership expert & Shivani RK presenting articles related to well being, leadership/personal development, cognitive mastery, positive emotions, building resilience, and relationships.