Anyone else have trouble putting social media and gratitude in the same boat? The premise behind social media is a great thing! Personally, I have been able to stay in contact with many more people than I would have without social media. Seeing my friends and family members post some of those life events that they are most proud of leaves me feeling so happy for them. A great way to extend feelings of gratitude just for life.
But what about those days that every post you read just seems to bring you down? Whether it is a political post from the opposite side of the political spectrum or just an awful meme? A meme based in a completely alternative basis of reality with many comments supporting the reasoning really got me today. Typically, I just read these memes followed by a quick facepalm and just keep scrolling. But if I had facepalmed after this meme, I think I would have left bruises!
I know I certainly do not want to give up social media. I love the connections I do have whether through just friendly chats, comment interactions on posts, or interactive groups. So many of the groups that I am member of have so many helpful interactions. I can see random strangers lifting others up who are feeling down. There is so much good out there, somehow, we need to find a way to focus solely on that goodness.
I did follow a couple of steps that I found helpful when I felt myself incredibly tempted to comment on this troubling meme. I actually typed out a response in a word document. Not on Facebook as I did not want to actually hit enter and have the comment post. Anyone else have the accidental thumb click when scrolling on their phone?
I then walked away, or rather clicked away and did some actual work for a bit. When I came back to what I had written, I reviewed the comment again with an eye to whether or not this comment would benefit anyone. I determined that I could not actually rephrase the comment without it sounding insulting. Plus, I have never seen anyone’s mind changed by a Facebook comment. I also realized that since I am fairly certain this person would not be swayed, all that would happen is I would get sucked into more and more comments causing more and more anxiety. I would never make it as a politician in this day and age because I am horrible at the rapid-fire social media “burn.”
I closed out the program without saving. Wow, that was a relief already.
Next step, I went to some of my groups and started reading through some of the recent posts. The groups that I am a member of are related to my favorite hobbies. All of them have rules about keeping posts positive. I start to read through posts from those that just had a great practice or shared a goal they had been working toward and finally reached. What a difference! So much gratitude on the page, there was no way I could not feel some of that gratitude reach me.
One final step is a challenge I would like to extend a challenge to everyone today. If you find yourself scrolling and scrolling and getting more and more upset, stop scrolling! Go to a couple of friend’s pages or if you want to keep it private, use a private message on messenger. Send a message expressing your gratitude toward that person or people. A quick thank you for being a friend or for being supportive of you in times of need. It does not matter how small the message is, just sending a few grateful messages will help to spread gratitude. I do not mean a chain message either. I know those annoy all of us! A personal message from you to one person. No group messages.
Hopefully, these quick steps will help anyone that finds themselves sucked into the negative pull of social media. It is very easy to get sucked in, but there are certainly areas where social media can help with gratitude. We just may have to be more proactive than in other areas. Remember, we are focusing on improving our output to improve our input!
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