It's Time to STOP Scrolling Instagram...
Passive Scrolling vs Purposeful Scrolling - What does this mean?
Are you aware of exactly what you are consuming when you pick up your phone and start passively scrolling through Instagram?
More than ever we rely on our phones, for work, for entertainment, for banking, for organisation, for communication, for recipes, for music, for booking holidays, for pretty much everything!
But how often do you pick up your phone to go on social media with a purpose? With a really clear goal of what you want to get out of it. I’m going to guess not so often...
Put it this way, when you go onto Google you don’t just scroll! You have to search for what you need to know.
There is a lot of talk about the impact of social media on our wellbeing, and it’s important we talk about it because there ARE ways to use social media in a way that is positive to your mindset, your wellbeing and your education.
What is passive scrolling?
When you are waiting for a bus, or an appointment or feel awkward, I can probably bet the first thing you do is pick up your phone for comfort right?
Passive scrolling is EXACTLY that, scrolling with no purpose. You pick up your phone for 5 mins then BOOM 1 hour later you are left feeling down on yourself.
All of us are guilty of picking up our phone and having a good scroll… albeit sometimes when we should be doing something, hello procrastination!
Think of it like TV, if you turned on your tv and didn’t change the channel, and a program was on that you just weren’t interested in, you’d see that as a waste of time right?
Social media is NO different, but you have the ability to change the channel!
The negative effect of passive consumption
Is the content you are consuming when you are having a scroll good for you? When we scroll passively, we often are looking at content we haven’t actively chosen to consume, which can sometimes lead to:
Comparison - which we all know comparison is the thief of joy!
Self-doubt - an unfortunate bi-product of comparison, ‘Am I good enough?’.
Demotivation - don’t let other peoples productivity or life demotivate you to LIVE yours.
Consume content that has a purpose
If you want to enjoy the positive side of social media, I’d recommend to switch up the way you use social media and aim to consume content that you will gain value from! This could be in the form of business advice, inspiration within your industry, learn tips or hear from experts whose opinions you value and respect.
Content creators to follow for Marketing Tips
On TikTok I love to check out creators such as:
@socialjazz
@jera.bean
@themrspederson
@garyvee
Or search #learnontiktok #marketingtiktok
I’d really recommend checking these guys out if you are interested in Marketing tips and tricks, my own TikTok is @maryannedamarzo where I share insights into running a business and regular tips and tricks all about marketing your business online!
How to stop scrolling on Instagram & social media
They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, and for most of us, we have been using social media actively for at least 10 years? So that habit is going to be quite ingrained into our brains and even muscle memory, let’s not even talk about the effect our phones have had on our necks and thumbs!
What can you do to avoid scrolling through social media passively? Let me share some tips:
Have a clear out - go through your feed and unfollow any accounts that aren’t good for you!
Create a list of go to’s - Actively go to the creators that you know fill you with inspiration and you can learn something from them!
Mute rather than unfollow - Don’t want to unfollow? That’s okay! You can mute users by pressing down on their stories (when they are in the stories bar) and selecting mute. You can choose to mute stories, feed posts or both!
Set yourself a time limit - Apple does make you aware of your screentime and you can set a timer for individual apps.
Put your phone away when you are working - pop it in a drawer or out of sight, you’ll find you will go on it less! If you need WhatsApp for work, download the app on your desktop to keep on top of work messages.
Read ‘How to Break up with your Phone’ - for a 30-day step by step plan to learn to use your phone purposefully.
I have a challenge for you
The next time you pick up your phone and go to open up Instagram, STOP and ask yourself, why am I going on Instagram right now, what do I want to achieve?
And then to flip that on its head…
The next time you find yourself passively scrolling through Instagram, ask yourself after, what did I learn from that? You’ll soon start to realise that finding out what an old school friend had for breakfast or how many days there are until someone else’s holiday actually isn’t very worthy of your time.
You don’t need to stop using social media!
But maybe you do need to rethink your habits and use social platforms in a more productive way that suits you and you might find you have more free time or learn more!
There are SO many creators sharing advice and tips that you can use to further your business and enhance your daily life.
I really hope you’ve gained something by reading this blog and will be mindful of your scrolling habits. Let me know in the comments what you think about scrolling with a purpose! Is it something you will try and do?
BIG love,
Mary-Anne. x
p.s if you would like to check out all the marketing tips that I’ve been sharing on TikTok, you can view ALL of my videos here.
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