WhatsApp. Google. Instagram. Twitter. Facebook. All these media platforms have somehow become part of our everyday lives. And as it is, there are people who are very paranoid about social media platforms while others are too eager to post anything to social media platforms. Similarly, there are some people making money from the social media platforms while we also got individuals living with regret due to something they did that went viral. Today’s article shows you my good and bad experiences with the internet and how I have evolved from these over time. The article ends with useful tips on how to make the most out of social media. Enjoy.

The emergence of social media platforms in the internet era has been a good thing. The icing on the cake becomes the fact that you can access all these at the tap of a finger – by tapping your smartphone. Here are some good things I attribute to the internet:

• By now, who hasn’t used and praised Google?
• In the late 2000’s, Facebook helped me find old friends and keep in touch with their affairs.
• In the mid 2010’s, I was able to use Instagram for motivation quotes – especially regarding goals and having healthy relationships.
• In the late 2010’s, Twitter proved informative on current affairs and important research events happening – both at the local and global level.
• YouTube has also been so entertaining and informative. I listen to quality music, watch informative documentaries, and even learn about topics of interest at the tap of a finger.
• I can’t forget WhatsApp, a platform that has made work, family and friends seamlessly keep in touch.

I have also had not-so-good experiences with these social media platforms:

• Uncle Google gives you relevant answers whenever you ask. So if you ask depressing questions, you’ll get depressing answers and so you’ll likely continue being depressed. I wouldn’t blame Google for that
• I once had someone who used to stalk me on social media and use it to bad-mouth me, then make himself look better in the quest for popularity. It affected me until I realised this and turned the tables.
• I lost appeal for Instagram when I realised the visual appeal of the platform had resulted in the clouding of quality content – people posting to show how perfect their lives are, which is often not true, made me use it less and less over time.
• Twitter has remained the most valuable platform despite me being skeptical about it in 2009 when I joined. Twitter can however suck when politicians and popular people use the platform and its hashtags to spread inflammatory remarks about issues, places and things.
• There are times when YouTube will literally eat your day because once its algorithm has been able to capture your tastes and interests, it will feed you content after content – content you crave and can’t resist.
• There are times when people use WhatsApp status updates to indirectly communicate with others, express their dark sides or even mock you.

Ever since I learned that social media is a reflection of what I am, I don’t blame social media for being boring, addictive, distractive or for that matter, any other unpleasant experience I can link with the social media platforms. Here are examples of how my social media experience has evolved:

• I now use Google to see how people ask questions about certain topics, and how my public image would look like if anyone asked Uncle Google about me
• I stopped using Facebook for sharing too much personal information and instead use it to only share important information. I even prefer using my Facebook page over my actual Facebook account.
• I use Instagram to curate some of my best pictures. I love capturing nature using my phone and when impressed by my pictures, I upload one or two on Instagram
• I only engage with quality content on Twitter to heppntheir algorithm to learn about my interests. I also take advantage of and use the ‘unfollow’ if someone’s posts seem to be no longer interesting or useful.
• YouTube is currently my to-go-to platform if I need credible information about anything. This is because it takes a lot of time and effort to come up with content worth making a video about, which means you’ll meet less bullshit on YouTube.
• With WhatsApp, I do block people who are clearly offensive, ignore people not worth my attention and mute WhatsApp status updates I rate to be low-grade.

As a wrap up of today’s content, here are a few tips on how to make good use of social media platforms:

• Social media ain’t good or bad. It evolves to become what you want to make of it. The algorithms of the social media platforms learn from your online activities and present to you what they think is important to you. So, if a platform feeds you boring stuff, chances are you’re also interested in boring stuff. It’s therefore up to you to define the value you seek from social media platforms, after which the social media platforms will improve for your sake
• Social media is real and it doesn’t forget. Don’t say, share or do anything online that you wouldn’t do in real life. You might think the screen protects you from your followers but those who interact with your content are real. I don’t think you want to one day regret about something you did on a social media platform – ten years later.
• Limiting the time you spend on social media platforms will make you realise that some content that you often read and watch is not worth your time. This can help reduce the bullshit that streams on your timeline, thereby increasing room for more valuable content.
• Going to a social media platforms without an agenda leaves you apathetic – you’ll consume whatever catches your eye and you’ll not necessarily be happy about what you find there.
• The best way to find quality content from social media is by organic referrals. Don’t run after every social media trend or advertisements, because these are fr people who want to advance their agenda to you

Above all, make social media platforms serve to promote your goals lifestyle.

Lead your life to reach your goals; live deliberately.

https://goalslifestyle.com