Try a Social Media Fast to Boost Self-Confidence and Banish Your Inner Critic

Social media can be awesome. Catching up with friends and family, seeing photos of their vacations, and reading about their milestones in life can be fun and exciting. Unfortunately, it can also come with some negative effects, including lowering your self-confidence. It’s so easy to unfairly compare yourself to others and let your inner critic run wild when you spend lots of time looking at the lives of others. Being bombarded by the highlights of your friends’ seemingly perfect lives can even lead to sadness and anxiety.

As with most aspects of dealing with your inner critic, it’s important to know that you can take control of your social media in order to get the results you want from the experience. Keep reading, and I’ll show you how.

Set a Schedule

If you feel like you’re constantly checking social media and are getting overwhelmed by the feeling that everyone else is living a better life, consider limiting your time on the sites. Checking your feed regularly and at random can actually feel like an addiction for some. Your brain is rewarded by the interesting posts and you keep going back for more. If those posts are also making you feel bad about yourself, it may be even more problematic. Try limiting yourself to checking only a few times each day and set a social media schedule. This might help you to feel less pressure.

Let Go of FOMO

Surely, you’ve heard of FOMO. It’s a phenomenon that’s come about recently and is particularly due to social media use. It stands for “fear of missing out.” When you see mostly the best parts, or highlight reels, of the people you follow, you’re bound to feel like you’re not doing enough in life or that you’re missing out on great things. Try letting go of that feeling. Focus, instead, on being grateful for the great things in your own life. Consider your own highlight reel, which might be pretty great in itself.

Adjust Your Feed

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that your social media experience is your own. You don’t have to follow anyone whose posts don’t energize you. You may want to consider hiding, unfollowing, or unfriending certain people if their feed is causing you stress. Toxic family members, bragging acquaintances, or unrealistic online influencers come to mind as the types of folks you may want to eliminate from your feed.

Take a Break

If all else fails, you can try to quit cold turkey for a while. Taking a break from social media completely can be a great way to reset yourself. You’ll get away from the constant influence of what others are doing and you can focus on all the things you enjoy within your own like, such as connecting more with your real-life friends or pursuing your hobbies.

Keep these social media tips in mind if you suspect your inner critic is being louder due to its use. There’s no use in spending time on social media if it’s bringing you down.

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