Positive Ways to Spend Time on Social Media

Social media provides many opportunities to stay in touch with loved ones who live all over the globe. Further, these outlets allow you to share photos, learn about local events and see what your old friends are up to. However, social media also breeds a great deal of negativity. False information is spread, and individuals engage in brutal arguments with their relatives and friends. Now is the time to change how you approach social media. Instead of allowing these platforms to have a negative or neutral effect on your life and the lives of others, discover how you can harness social media in a positive fashion.

Don’t Make Yourself Vulnerable

Posting certain types of information on your account can make you vulnerable to scammers and hackers. Of course, ensure that you have your account set to the highest privacy settings. Additionally, watch for surveys that ask you to share your personal information on your profile status. Think about the types of frequently asked questions for password protection on seemingly harmless social media websites. You might be giving away an answer in the survey. Also, ensure that you aren’t posting scams. By posting a scam, you are suggesting that you’re vulnerable to other cons.

Check Your Facts

When you see a post with startling or intriguing information, you might immediately want to share this information on your feed. You might add in a comment that adds to the general outcry about the situation. Before you click on any buttons to pass the information on, check the facts. Some social media sites will post a warning that the content might be fraudulent. In other cases, you’ll need to do the research yourself. Going to a reliable search engine and typing in some details can likely lead you to a quick answer.

Learn about Reporting Tools

Once you learn that the information is fake, you should take the next step to report the content. Reporting the content can get it removed from social media so that the rumors do not continue circulating. Make sure you employ these efforts regularly. For example, you can assist in anti-racism efforts on Nextdoor and Facebook by reporting offensive content. By reporting racist and abusive content, you’re helping to prevent individuals from being harmed or upset by that material.

Avoid Engaging with Trolls

You may have encountered internet trolls before on social media and not even realized what was happening. A troll is a person who stirs up trouble simply for the sake of causing trouble. When you engage with trolls on social media, you do exactly what they want you to do. Trolls wish people to fight and debate with one another. If you see a troll commenting on a post, do not respond to that individual. Depending on the policies of the particular social media site, you may also be able to report the troll. By reporting trolls, you’re helping to keep social media clean.

Search for Communities and Events

Instead of aimlessly scrolling through social media with no purpose, search for communities and events that are connected to your interests. For example, you might find upcoming events in the name of social justice taking place in your neighborhood. You might also find a group of people who share your beliefs. Then, you can work together to enact positive change based on those beliefs. Another option is to look into starting an online community on your favorite social media site.

Negativity on social media is a significant problem. These negative situations can ruin your fun on social media, but they can have much more detrimental and severe effects. These negative behaviors can allow racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, and other such attitudes to thrive and replicate. Instead of being a part of the problem, whether by posting false information or refusing to speak up against injustice, change how you use social media. Commit yourself to inspire positive change on these platforms and explore different approaches for doing so.

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