Today - 30 June 2023 has been decreed as World Social Media Day and I thought it was worth a few minutes reflecting on my use of social media and how it’s changed recently.

And of course I wanted to say a big thank you for being here - on social media - as otherwise it would just be me writing to my mum, my sister and a handful of friends.

But anyway - back to Social Media with capital letters. It’s really hot news right now but I would have to say that the tone is overwhelmingly more negative than positive. Bots, algorithmns, spam and the constant pressure to stay up to date mean that for many of us, social media is increasingly seen as a chore rather than a pleasure.

We talk about social media detoxes, as though it’s something harmful to us. And don’t get me wrong, like anything in excess, social media has the capacity to cause us harm but I thought it might be helpful to think about how much good it can do too.

I had cause to reflect on this recently, sorting out Uni Accommodation and general life stuff for my eldest son. It’s all very different to when I was a student - everything was paper based (yes, I am showing my age). You filled out a UCAS form - on actual paper, made your choices. You looked at a few grainy photos in a prospectus to decide where you wanted to stay and if you were lucky you did an in-person visit.

Now every aspect of the process is online. There are walk-through videos, 360 degree tours. When deciding on accommodation you have the power of Google maps, street views, transport timetables all at the tap of a finger. It truly is amazing how far we have come and it’s undoubtedly a far cry from when my parents dropped me off at a student halls I’d never seen before with an unfeasibly large teapot (Mum had an idea that it would help me make friends) and a couple of suitcases.

Social media is something I use every day, and I wouldn’t want it any other way to be honest. Just looking around my desk, most of the items on it have been purchased from independant small businesses that I just wouldn’t have found through conventional advertising methods.

Yarn, mugs, books, tarot decks, notebooks and pens all from small indie businesses that I found through Instagram.

On a recent trip to a nearby town I sought out a farm shop and cafe that a local friend had shared photos of on Instagram - inspiring me to go and verify that yes, they did indeed stock heavrnly donuts.

All of these things make my life better in tiny but immeasurable ways. But none of them would have filtered through to my awareness were it not for the power of social media. I don’t watch ‘real’ TV or buy newspapers and I rarely travel to big cities where there are billboards and hoardings. The big companies still manage to filter through to my conciousness due to their all-pervasive market power, but the little guys wouldn’t stand a chance.

Yes, social media has its annoyances for sure, but for me the benefits vastly outweigh the downsides.

One thing I have struggled with recently is the concept of the endless scroll, and of course it’s important to remember that the various social media platforms are designed specifically to do this. To hook us in and crucially to keep us there for as long as possible until we suddenly find that half an hour has elapsed and we are onto our second video of dancing baby goats in sweaters.

When I sit down for a nice juicy scroll, coffee in hand I’ve started setting a timer for 10 minutes or so. When it goes off I ask myself how I’m feeling. Am I happy, uplifted, inspired? If so, maybe 5 more minutes of scroll and chat. If not, I know it’s time to put my phone down for a little while and do something else.

What about you? Do you have any strategies to stop the scroll or do you do regular ‘screen free time’ I’m always interested (read, nosy) to hear about other peoples browsing habits.