As a public relations student, I understand the importance of balancing the demands of social media use. While essential for monitoring trends and identifying potential crises, the constant connection can have negative impacts and take a toll on mental health.
Throughout co-op work terms, I enjoyed media monitoring and researching social media-based trends. While social media has proven to be an essential component of public relations, it can feel overwhelming to consider the implications of monitoring social media professionally, followed by recreational social media use outside work hours. In a 24-hour period, that may lead to countless hours spent navigating TikTok or Meta Ads!
Social media offers undeniable benefits. Its impact is vast, from connecting with family and friends on Facebook to promoting a local business on Instagram, to accessing free educational resources on YouTube. Social media platforms have revolutionized global communication, empowered business ventures and amplified social justice movements by providing a large-scale platform. Social media has opened the floodgates for two-way communication between brands and consumers and created countless platforms for networking and building communities.
Additionally, I want to recognize the leisurely side of social media. Like board games, television and other recreational activities, social media is a form of entertainment for many. As a reminder, something does not have to be productive or lucrative to be fun and engaging. Captivating Reddit threads, TikTok feeds curated to your niches or hobbies and even a good X (formerly Twitter) thread on the latest celebrity gossip can all act as a form of leisurely entertainment.
For communicators and public relations practitioners, social media requires media monitoring and strategizing throughout communication plans. However, establishing boundaries for personal use outside work requirements is crucial for overall health, stress management and well-being.
Curious about how to manage social media outside of office hours? Check out the following strategies:
Set social free hours: Limiting social media usage, or any blue light (television included) at least one hour before heading to bed can lead to increased sleep quality. Whether this timeframe is a reality for you or not, set intentional social free hours daily. For example, starting your morning with coffee and breakfast without mindlessly scrolling, putting your phone away during a workout, or setting a different social media free time block throughout your day.
Turn off notifications: Social media platforms monetize off distracting us and frequently often send irrelevant notifications to get us to open the app and spend more time on the platform. While I love to deep dive down a new Reddit thread, turning off social media notifications (or managing them to set key preferences) can lead to reduced screen time and fewer distractions.
Don’t be afraid of the do not disturb function: Outside of working hours, place your phone on “do not disturb” (you can customize this feature so that you are still notified about essential calls and text messages). The do not disturb feature will limit notifications or non-urgent memes from friends, limiting the temptation to open Instagram or other social platforms.
Curate your feeds: Your social media platform and presence are uniquely yours. Curate your social feeds to reflect your passions, interests and general positivity. Follow creators and pages that resonate with you, and don’t be afraid to unfollow (or mute) negative connections.
Prioritize social media free activities: Getting outside for a walk or grabbing coffee with friends in-person are great ways to remove yourself from the digital world. At home, practice hobbies like reading, painting, or any other activities to spend intentional leisure time while limiting getting stuck in a TikTok rabbit hole.
Put your phone physically away: In 2018, a Harvard Business Review study showed that even the presence of a phone on a table, face down and powered off led to a cognitive decline in study participants. Participants who completed the assignment with their phone in a different room, or even their phone in pocket performed significantly higher than the participants who completed the assignment with their phone directly next to them (even though it was powered off).
Practice self-care: Self-care doesn’t always mean face masks and sleep. Self-care can be practicing acceptance and being easy on yourself – social media is designed to be addictive, and falling victim to this isn’t a failure. Work towards setting boundaries with social media and creating your own strategies with your schedule to monitor your social media usage.
Social media is not a free product. Society is paying for platforms like Meta and X with the most valuable commodity – our time. With proper strategies in place, it is possible to recognize this and still excel as a public relations practitioner.
Written by: Megan Savary, Symmetry Editing Manager and Social Media Supervisor
