Time for a January social media detox?

Social media can be an important part of our working lives. These platforms can be very useful for your current job role, when you want to find a new role and even in your personal lives. Finding a job online, applying and even interviewing have become very technology-based parts of job seeking now and we should embrace the changes and use what is available to us. However, we need to know when to take a break and check if what we are doing is actually working for us. Not everyone is happy with the ‘new normal’ and finding a good balance between technology and the real world can help you feel more comfortable with these changes.

The detox

Social media is always there, it’s always active and available to us, quite literally all the time. Mobile phones and portable computers have been a part of our lives for a long time now and I’m not saying you should cut them out altogether. I’m simply suggesting monitoring how often you use these devices; society has become almost reliant on technology and we often depend on these things’ day in and day out.

If you’re like me, then the first thing you do in the morning is turn off your alarm and look at your phone. It’s hard not to scroll through other apps on your phone when it was probably the alarm you set on that device that woke you up. I use my phone as soon as I wake up, all day and then it’s the last thing I look at in the evening before bed. The constant need to be active is what may be causing stress and tiredness. Not only from the pressure of always being active, but it definitely isn’t good for your eyes either.

It’s not just our phones. It’s the equipment we have to use everyday for work and the need for information. If we’re not on our phones or computers, then it’s probably the radio or television talking at you. We are in constant need of information! When you take all this away, even for a few hours a day, you have time with your own thoughts and even time to do other things that can help you relax, like reading or exercise activities. Taking a break is just as important for your physical health as it is for your mental health.

The reality

The sad reality of the situation is that we need to use these things. We need our phones, social media and the use of the internet to be able to accomplish things for either your job or your job search. However, you can draw a line. Much like a schedule, you can make sure that you are turning devices off at the end of your working day. You can try and take days where you don’t use social media. However, there will always be information that you feel you need and people that you want to talk to on LinkedIn for example. So, I wouldn’t go as far as deleting these things because we need them, but be aware of what you are doing and how you can detox your social pages to only get the information and contacts that you need and are going to help you.

What platforms are really useful to you?

Cutting out social media completely is near enough impossible. So, go through the apps and sites that you use and try and determine if they are useful to your goals or not. Things like LinkedIn and Twitter can be important for work relationships and job seekers, so it’s probably best to keep these profiles active. Things like Instagram and reddit however, aren’t necessarily things that can help you achieve your goals. So, maybe think about using these less to help your detox with social media and technology.

Another way of ‘detoxing your social media’ is to use the apps that are useful to you but go through your network or your connections and see which ones are actually useful. Organising your social pages is actually a very common thing to do and it can help you focus on the connections that actually matter and will help you with your work or job search.

Know who to follow

All in all, knowing who to follow and what to interact with will help you focus. There is no need for unnecessary information when it comes to professional media. If you don’t think someone is going to help you or if there is a contact constantly sending you direct messages that has nothing to do with you, don’t hesitate to unfollow or disconnect with them. Focusing your social media on the people and things that matter will help you get better results.

Social media is important and sometimes being able to get information at the click of a button is just what we need. However, it’s the unnecessary information that clutters our social pages. The messages from people trying to promote things or send you job specs for things you’re just not interested or qualified for. Detoxing can come in 2 parts. Detoxing your profile pages and making it work more efficiently for you and detoxing yourself from social media. Both are linked very closely with each other and finding the right balance can be difficult. There are many professionals out there who have never found the right balance for them. But taking time each day to step back and take a breather can help you feel free of being ‘switched on’ all the time. As well as taking a moment to unfollow that contact or scroll through your network. Either way, a little detox and de-clutter can go a long way.