Happy Sunday! 🪻

Like most of us, I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with social media. I love: seeing what my friends and family are up to, learning new things, seeing people’s creations, watching BTS content, sharing parts of my life, etc. And then there are the not-so-great aspects where people are judgy, leave nasty comments, post negative content, and of course there’s the endless scrolling we all do. Well, with Social Media Day coming up on Tuesday, I thought I would talk a little about the ways we can make social media a better place for ourselves, and others as well.

One of my best friends is an example of using social media for good. I have a video below you can watch about a “kindness mob” who leaves positive comments on a different person’s post every day. My friend Paula has been doing this on her own for as long as she’s had social media. She was reluctant to join at first, but once she did, she not only got a lot of information and inspiration, she spread a lot of joy to others. She is forever leaving comments on people’s posts that are just the kindest messages ever. And it’s not just “I love this so much.” She goes in detail about what she loves about their post, and the difference they’re making, and how she’s grateful for them, and on and on. It is a beautiful thing to see, and something we can all learn from.

Another great way to make your social media feed feel good is to engage with the things you like and that make you smile and laugh. It’s so easy for us to get wrapped up in people’s negative stories and drama, but as we all know, that only means that the algorithm thinks we want more of it and that’s what we get. But the same is for engaging with the positive. The quote that made you think, watching someone’s process while they create art, hearing someone talk about something good that happened to them. Like, listen, share, subscribe. If you really are tired of all the negative, you have to engage with the positive to get more of it.

How about YOU adding more joy and happiness to social media. Look through your photos. That beautiful flower you stopped to take a picture of while you were out for a walk? Post it. Did something unexpectedly joyful happen to you today? Share it. Are you learning something new? Don’t be afraid to show yourself struggling through it. We all do. It’s what makes us human. I am a big believer in trying to push through all the negative noise by adding a little happiness in the mix. If we all did a little more of that, imagine how different social media could look for all of us.

I realize that there are some things that are out of our control when it comes to social media, but I really do have hope that if enough of us believe in sharing the good, things can change. At the very least, we should take a serious look at what we interact with and share and absorb. As someone who could stand to do a little less scrolling, I’m going to start there. I’m sure my brain could use the break every once in a while.

I hope you have an amazing week, and that you challenge yourself to post something good and joyful. It could be exactly what someone else needs.

🧠 Study says…your best days aren’t behind you! If you’re worried about getting older, see how your mindset plays an important role in that.

🛝 A community comes together to give seniors the ride of their lives on this giant slip and slide!

⚽ A soccer coach teaching her players about the important lessons off the field, as well as on.

🥅 A father creates a board to guide his son, who is blind, to experience the World Cup and a goal by Cristiano Ronaldo. The joy!