To protect your energy on social media, take long breaks; if possible, don’t use social media on your phone. To protect your energy, consciously choose what content you are going to consume in advance, and allow yourself to block or ignore content that lowers your energy.

Also, don’t fall into the trap of oversharing, and don’t identify with your social media profiles — they are not you, nor are they supposed to reflect everything about you.

Social media can be an incredible tool — for business, socializing, dating, and educating yourself and learning new skills.

The issue is, we tend not to use it optimally. We tend to consume content and be engaged in stuff that lowers our energy, and we assume it’s normal.

But really, it’s not. It doesn’t have to be. Keep reading…

What does it mean to protect your energy?

If social media tends to make you feel worse, that’s a sign your energy is being drained. It literally is that simple.

We lose energy when we give it away. When it comes to using social media, our energy could be invested in worry, anxiety, or the cycle of toxic comparison.

Or it could be the fear mongering, the fake beauty standards, the hateful comments from people we don’t even know.

There really is an immense amount of information available on social media, and the issue is, only part of it is helpful; part of it can seriously steal our energy.

To protect your energy on social media means to use and benefit from social media without being negatively influenced by it. And yes, it is possible.

Don’t expect to be completely immune — that’s never going to happen. But you can learn to use social media more consciously and not let it drag you.

Here are my top ten tips to do that. If you would like to share your own tips, or any relevant advice, please do so by leaving a comment at the end.

How to protect your energy on social media

Emojis

1. Take long breaks

First and foremost: I don’t care if you use social media for your job, I don’t care if you absolutely cannot miss this or that — you are not supposed to use any social media platform 24/7.

If you feel you don’t have the discipline to use social media in small, healthy doses, then you can set a period of time, each day, in which you use it, and as soon as that time ends, that’s it.

Similarly, feel free to do a phone detox once in a while, or weekly. For example, you could turn off your phone (and/or laptop) every Sunday afternoon. Social media is so incredibly addictive, and you never really realize how much time you spend on it.

2. Be very selective

Be selective in terms of who you follow, who you decide to be friends with, the kind of content that you consume. Be selective even when it comes to which platform you use.

Because you may find that certain social media platforms tend to trigger stronger emotions, or tend to be much more addictive than others. Do you really need to use those? Or could you just stick to one or two platforms?

The second tip to protect your energy on social media is to carefully select and filter what you consume and what you are exposed to, before you even turn on your phone or open up a browser tab. Deliberately avoid content that steals your energy.

3. Detach emotionally

What if social media was a bit like a movie, where although some of the scenes can be beautiful, scary, engaging, intriguing — none of them are actually real?

That’s the best approach when it comes to using social media. Because some of the content is actually fake, and the rest of it still doesn’t fully reflect the truth.

Pictures of people are not people. Emojis are not emotions. Shares are not endorsements. You get the point. When consuming content on social media, be very aware that what you see is… social media. Social media is not the real world.

4. Uninstall the apps

And browse social media with your laptop or tablet instead. I can tell you, this makes a huge difference. Perhaps you can’t do it for all your profiles, but you definitely don’t need to have all those apps on your phone.

You are (almost) always free to turn off your laptop; the same is not true for your phone. By the way, this is why social media companies always encourage us to install the app — they know apps are much more addictive, and that we have much less control over them.

So if you do want to be in control, if you are serious about protecting your energy, do yourself a favor and delete all those apps unless you absolutely need to use social media on your phone.

5. Have a boring profile

Identification. It’s one of the biggest risks when it comes to using social media. Identification alone can seriously interfere with your mental health and your self-esteem.

What I’m referring to is the tendency to assume that your profiles must reflect you; that, in a way, they are you. And so people spend a ridiculous amount of time and energy making those profiles perfect.

My advice: allow yourself to have the most boring pictures, and content in general. Treat your social media accounts as if they were that old online account on a government website or something. Make them simple and uninteresting on purpose, to remind yourself that they are not you.

6. Feel free to block/unfollow

To protect your energy on social media, you also want to give yourself permission to block, unfollow, mute, or ignore anything that triggers negative emotions.

Haters and stupid people in general, old friends that are no longer friends, past relationships, fear mongering, drama, desperate attention seekers, or even just time wasters — you are allowed not to engage in those.

You are allowed not to give them your energy. The easiest way to do so (while still using social media)? Block them. Or unsubscribe, or unfollow. Don’t think twice, and don’t feel sorry.

7. Set intentions

If this sounds complicated, don’t worry. To set intentions simply means to consciously decide 1) which type of content you will consume on social media, and 2) why and how you are going to use it.

It’s easy to get lost and go down the rabbit hole if you just open an app and just pick whatever appears on the screen. If you already have an intention, that’s a different story.

For example: next time you use social media, decide that you are going to find out more about a certain person or topic, or message someone, or watch a certain video or video series. And that’s it.

8. Know your triggers

What is it that lowers your energy when you are on social media? Think about it; be specific. Or, go on social media and monitor your own inner dialogue, your emotions.

Each time you get a negative feeling, write it down. What was it? By the way, it doesn’t need to be as strong as hate, depression, or anger. It could be that each time you see a certain type of content you feel disappointed, or repulsed.

That’s just an example. You know your triggers, you know what drains your energy the most. Be aware of it and then do anything you can to block or ignore it.

9. Don’t share too much

You don’t need to share everything with the whole world. Seriously, you don’t. I think people are increasingly willing to expose themselves, and this can work against them.

Not necessarily because of haters (or worse, scammers and the like). But because each of us has the divine right to protect their privacy, to have their private sphere.

Yes, sharing can be a good thing. “Happiness is only real when shared”, as the quote says. But don’t fall into the trap of oversharing. It can be bad for your mental health.

10. Expect the unexpectable

And stupidity. And hate. And… you name it. My last tip to protect your energy on social media: even after you’ve cleaned up your feed, blocked toxic people, and all that, don’t expect a perfect experience.

Which kind of reflects real life. With the difference that while in real life it takes serious effort to get your attention, on social media it’s ridiculously simple.

Literally anyone can post a stupid comment. Anyone! And yet so often we are surprised by what we read or watch on social media. Don’t be surprised; expect a whole bunch of randomness, and things you won’t necessarily like.

Protect your energy on social media: quotes

Don’t compare your real life to someone else’s controlled online content.

Laura Distin

Be cautious with what you feed your mind and soul.

Steve Maraboli

Guard your heart, mind, and time. Those three things will determine the health of everything else in your life.

Andrena Sawyer

I would say for my generation, specifically, social media has really been terrible. It does scare me when you see how exposed these young boys and girls are. I would be careful and allow yourself some time limits of when you should use it.

Selena Gomez

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind the scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.

Steven Furtick

In a world where everyone is overexposed, the coolest thing you can do is maintain your mystery.

Unknown

Positive energy is your priceless life force. Protect it. Don’t allow people to draw from your reserves. Select friends who recharge your energies.

Chalene Johnson

The problem with social media is you can figure out too much, and usually it’s info you are happier without.

Unknown

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