Along the same lines, minimalism applied to social media doesn’t mean that we should have zero social media accounts or engagement.
I decided that identifying which social media platforms to utilize and how to use them was like finding a perfect sleep number on a Sleep Number bed. Just because I can’t find my perfect sleep number doesn’t mean I shouldn’t sleep, it just means I should keep trying until I find it.
When it comes to social media, its no secret that I dislike many things about it. But in my search for intentionality of all things, I did find some value in engaging online for these particular reasons.
Promoting our small business and my blog.
Learning and personal growth.
Sharing with others.
These reasons make some parts of social media valuable in my particular life. I do, however, refuse to succumb to simply being on social media. You’ll notice that these reasons for being on social media were not listed above:
So people know I exist.
So people know what my kids look like and are doing regularly.
So I can ‘like’ others photos to demonstrate that I care for them.
Instead, I focus my energy on being very intentional with my social media usage. I don’t blindly use the various platforms like I did before. I have neither the time nor the mental capacity to do so. I now use each social media account for specific purposes.
Here’s how I work to be intentional with social media use in the various ways I deem it beneficial to my own life.
How I Am Intentional With Social Media Use as a Blogger
Much to my dismay, to be a blogger requires some usage of social media. Also, blogging in and of itself is of course, still social media. To some extent it still requires posting virtually. So as I work to carefully choose platforms that work for me I still have to be careful not to let it become a bad habit that takes away from my “real life.” I don’t want the time I used to waste scrolling through Instagram to be replaced with worrying about getting my thoughts down on a blog.
Why Blog at All?
In the end, that initial want to keep all my thoughts hidden was shushed. In the midst of a pandemic I know it is especially important to highlight mental illness. After all, how can mental illness not be exasperated from social media when we are all staring at the screen 1,000 times more than we did before? I was challenged by the idea that its just too important to talk openly about it, embarrassing or not.
In addition, I kept a journal my whole childhood and well into my 20s. I went through the progression of keeping a diary, one that my brother stole from me a time or two to torment me on the contents of who I was crushing on in my pre-teens, to journaling in an attempt to process through boyfriends from junior high and beyond. This practice of writing abruptly came back to me during Covid-times. It felt like both therapy and a mission. I thought, maybe others could find inspiration to improve their own relationship with social media too.
Despite learning that blogging is not simply writing, but also requires some engaging online I still decided to keep with it. This is how I currently utilize social media for the sake of sharing my blog.
Researching Topics of Interest
Only after clearing out my newsfeeds on social media did I realize that I could create my own personalized newsfeed. Besides the ads that I have to ignore, I am able to strategically follow areas I am interested in and not much else.
Collaborating with Others in the Same Field of Interest
Following and engaging with blogs in similar interest areas as mine. I feel as though I can’t expect others to value my words if I don’t value the words of others. It’s fun to problem solve with others in this new venture and engage in conversation about our commonalities.
How I Am Intentional With Social Media Use as a Small Business Owner
My husband and I weren’t about to work hard for almost 10 years, only to ignore the benefits of using social media to support it. I can’t speak for him, but here is how I am intentional with my social media use in terms of helping it maintain its online presence.
Outsourcing Content for the Small Business
We work with the company that programs many of our workouts to provide content that is within our mission statement to educate, entertain, and inspire. Since they already had the content and it was within our values as a company we can focus our energy elsewhere.
Creating a Sense of Community
We use Facebook for a private page, as well as to communicate community events. We provide plenty of opportunities in “real life” to socially engage too, for those not active on Facebook.
How I Am Intentional With Social Media Use as a Goal-Oriented Person
Using certain platforms to work towards my goals
With a busy “real life” there is literally a finite amount of time I am able to deem “me time.” Like I mentioned earlier, I simply tidied up this me time that used to be mindless scrolling. Now I read articles specifically in the areas in my life I am looking to improve.
There is value in reading others blogs, or even their social media pages. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t myself be creating content for others to view.
To keep in line with intentionality I utilize various platforms that help me solve problems or make improvements in my own life. Much as I would expect someone to use my blog for.
My Self-Identified “Areas for Improvement”
How I Am Intentional With Social Media Use as a Friend and Family Member
Posting on my Terms
In assessing my values, I identified that I have a need to share. I determined that posting is all I find valuable with some platforms. I’m okay with ignoring the rest.
Sharing photos of the kids at random makes me feel like I’m sharing with loved ones. Writing is the creative outlet I’ve been missing. Blogging is the sharing of that creativity. Though it sometimes feels uncomfortable to share what is essentially the personal contents of my journal, it is the first time it felt important enough to share.
Overall, Using Each Social Media Platform for a Clear and Intentional Purpose
Put simply, I just don’t overdo it. I use each platform for a specific purpose. I unfollow, delete, mute, whatever, as much as possible to ignore the rest that any given platform has to offer.
Here’s How I Personally Am Intentional With My Use of Each Social Media Platform
I was about to write-off Facebook forever. But when I decided to start blogging it became my source for engaging with other blog groups, following blogger pages of interest, and sharing my blog posts.
My Twitter account has been collecting cob webs for 8 years. However, apparently it’s one of the best avenues for sharing blog posts. I find everything else about Twitter confusing so I currently use it for this purpose only.
Like Twitter, I haven’t used Pinterest in a meaningful way in years. Before I cleared it down to nothing, it held hundreds upon hundreds of pins. The abundance of boards and pins that I mindlessly stored mimicked my old cluttered basement. Starting over on this platform was so refreshing. I now use it to share my blog posts and words of encouragement.
Being “all in” on Instagram was what caused me to take a break on social media in the first place. I use it currently for posting to the stories to mention my blog posts or for following accounts that inspire me.
In Conclusion…
Using social media, instead of letting it use me, is the very definition of social media intentionality for me. Mindless scrolling led to information overload and bad feelings so I learned to use the selectiveness of the platforms to my advantage. And I’m content with that.