Taking Control of Your Social Media and News Intake for Your Mental Health
Cator Sparks, Boon Coach
There is a lot going on in the world right now. Every time we open our phones or turn on the news, it’s a constant barrage of sensationalized headlines, war reports, and gloom and doom. Not to mention friends and family posting all of their much needed (we jest) opinions about every current event on social media!
Our minds need a detox in order to live a fulfilling, healthy, and happy life. While avoiding the news all together isn’t ideal, you do want to be generally aware with what’s happening in the world, especially if the news may be affecting your personal rights, there is a balance.
Here are a few tips that can help you reduce the noise and take control of your news and social media intake:
Turn off all of your alerts on your phone. This way you aren’t getting constant notifications from all of your social and news apps. You are in control of when you decide to dive into the headlines.
Have relatives or friends who constantly post fear mongering news posts? It’s ok to hide or even block them for a few months, or forever! It’s your feed, you can curate it as you like.
Never let the news grind all day on your home or office TV. Listen to it intentionally and then turn it off. If you want something on your screen all day, try this calming YouTube channel!
When listening to the news, find a source that isn’t sensational. The BBC and NPR are great for simply reporting the news without drama and annoying anchor opinions. You can also simply listen on the app so once you have heard the top new stories, you can turn it off.
Limit your social media time. We have all started scrolling on social media and looked up and we have wasted an hour. You can try setting an alarm for 15 min or simply be mindful. How about an hour in the morning or evening to look at the news, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc? When the hour is up, you get on with your day.
Focus on self care. Book the gym, your favorite yoga class, a walk with a friend or a dinner with family. When we have uplifting events happening through our day, we don’t have time to doom scroll.
Once you take better care of your own mental health by cutting down or cancelling out the noise of social media and the news cycle you can better take care of yourself and others! Need help finding this balance? Boon has a plethora of coaches who can help you get on the right track.
Are you ready to see the benefits of mental well-being in your workplace? Contact us today to learn more about our services.
