A few questions that might help us understand how to use this channel of communication are as follows;
What makes me use social media under various circumstances? (A good example would be, while searching for a certain information about something, or maybe out of constant habit of seeing what is going on in the world, or it could just be a deliberate attempt to constantly stay connected to friends, family and loved ones).
At what times do I make use of social media the most? (To answer this, it is best to think back to times when you have been tempted to visit the social media sites or open the apps. Good examples of these times would be during lunch breaks, while travelling or even during meals etc. These will help you understand yourself better as a human being).
How does social media make me feel after I use it? This question will allow you understand if the time you spend on social media is having a positive impact on your life or not. (A good example of feelings you could get would be; stressed, relaxed, guilty feeling of spending too much time on social media, or maybe you just end up feeling happy).
Are there certain site or pages that seem more appealing or motivating to me? What makes these sites so special that they leave me feeling like this?
When you are done considering these various things, it will give you clarity on what makes you want to use this type of media, what time this happens often and in what ways this aids you and your life in general.
A few things that might help you improve on your learning from this are;
You should attempt to identify the websites/applications that offer you what you need in terms of information and entertainment and constrain your usage of social media to just these sites that you love. This is a lot better than registering on many sites and applications that are unnecessary and being weighed down or easily distracted by notifications from many of them.
Then you can take the knowledge of how these applications or websites affects your plans when you use a certain kind of social media network. A good example is if you are prone to losing track of time while using Facebook, then you can attempt to use the site when you have a ton of free time, like a lunch break that lasts half an hour and avoid using it when you have a five-minute break from work.
You can have access pages of applications or profiles as well that inspire or cause you to be pumped at shorter break periods, when you need to blow off some steam and maybe feeling stressed or tired.
For the applications or websites that you have successfully established that you normally use to break boredom, or have a history of negatively influencing you, do what you can to create a schedule of other activities that could replace the time you spend on those applications or websites. Good examples of activities like these could be going for a walk around your neighborhood or work place when you get bored rather than checking social media.
The above are a number of suggestion on how you can become more conscious of how your usage of social media affects you. There are also tools that can help you assess your mental health.
In truth, too much of anything can be bad, even social media. This is why recognizing that you are exhausted from social media is a first step in the right direction. A lot of people suffer from this daily without even realizing this on time. This has led to many serious mental damage and suicide of social media users. So it is quite important to pay attention to your mental health when your body begins to send signals.
These days, a lot of people are guilty of spending too much time on social media, it can be really addictive. This is why we need to monitor ourselves to ensure that we don’t get swept up in the wind of mental disarray. There are all kind of information available on social media both positive and negative, and sometimes we need to filter what we constantly expose ourselves to or we risk getting exposed to social media fatigue.
Physical activities help a lot in these situations and it is usually nice when people take a step back to engage in them, it can be refreshing when you decide not to stare at screens for a while and focus all your efforts on recovering your mental fatigue with physically engaging activities. You could also reduce the amount of time you spend staring at your devices too. This helps put you in a controlled environment where your mental health is not hindered by over exposure to social media.
In conclusion, social media is a great tool, but you also need to take precaution with it, because you can only use it well when you are mentally stable and healthy. Monitor yourself and enjoy your usage of it as much as you can.