Social media tools have reshaped the ways we see ourselves and the world around us. On the one hand, information sharing is more expeditious than ever before, creating new opportunities for learning, connection and communication. On the other hand, we’re lonelier than ever. Though some studies make a case for social media as a positive influence – providing acceptance and support – others share findings that suggest social media misuse can increase anxiety and depression.
Health coaches know better than anyone that too much of any good thing can quickly become problematic. Social media use is a prime example. Part of that is because most of us are never taught to understand social media hygiene and its impact on mental health. YourCoach health coaches get it. While the rest of the world is training us to see ourselves reflected back in our devices, health coaches see who we really are while helping us get a glimpse of our best future selves. In today’s blog, we talk about how health coaches support mental health by promoting good social media hygiene and habits.
Health coaches can promote “digital minimalism” to cull back social media dependencies.
One of the first steps a health coach might take when helping clients decrease the negative impacts of social media is to take an audit of how they’re using socials. What apps are they interacting with most regularly? How much time are they spending there? How do they feel after time on each app? After these initial intake conversations, health coaches can help identify smart opportunities where it might benefit clients to scale back on their social media use, limiting themselves to the interactions that give them the most fulfillment and removing those that spark negativity.
Coaches might start by encouraging clients to offload any apps they don’t find enriching. This could mean deleting those apps temporarily, to see if they have a positive impact on mental health, or perhaps removing them permanently if they aren’t proving to be additive. They might encourage clients to think through connections and interactions that give them joy and those that give them stress. From there, they might propose tailored solutions that could include activating features that reduce stress – like removing public “like” counts from posts – unfollowing accounts that are causing a negative reaction. Digital minimalism promotes more conscious consumption, leading to more positive interactions on social media and fewer negative ones.
Health coaches help to cultivate self-esteem offline.
One of the dangerous detriments to social media is the dreaded “FOMO.” It’s seeing what others look like, what they’re doing, wearing, eating, where they’re traveling, and allowing that to impact the way we see ourselves. Health coaches work one-on-one with clients to practice new ways of thinking that shift their frames of reference and promote positive self-esteem.
To do this, health coaches will work one-on-one with their clients to lean into strategies most likely to work. This might mean encouraging them to challenge negative self-talk while scrolling – practicing what this might look like and encouraging them to engage in this internal dialogue when interacting with social media, It might look like following social media scroll sessions with gratitude exercises, allowing clients to stay grounded in their reality by reflecting on the things in their life they’re most thankful for.
Health coaches promote balance, introducing habits that enforce limits around social media use.
Health coaches prioritize holistic health, which requires striking a healthy balance in as much as possible. They understand that “balance” looks different for everyone. They’ll work one-on-one to understand the role social media plays in your life, identify opportunities to create healthy boundaries with social media, and introduce habits that enforce these boundaries. For example, if you love scrolling through X to start your day and brief yourself on the latest news soundbites – but get lost doom scrolling and before you know it have interrupted time you’d otherwise spend getting ready for the day – this is an opportunity to make adjustments.
Health coaches identify these moments of opportunity and help you reshape them realistically. If catching social media time in the morning is important, it might help to incorporate habit stacking to limit social time to 20-30 minutes in the AM. Couple your social time with a healthy breakfast and make a commitment that once your breakfast is finished, so is the scrolling. Health coaches can set goals like this with clients, track progress week over week, and help troubleshoot if an existing strategy isn’t working.
As we navigate the complexities of the Digital Age, REAL health coaches can play a pivotal role in ensuring social media encourages more positivity, while having fewer negative effects on mental health. For employers looking to enhance their employees’ mental wellbeing, providing access to health coaching is an essential step. Reach out to us at team@yourcoach.health to explore how health coaching with YourCoach can benefit your workforce and empower them to thrive in a challenging digital landscape.