Using Social Media Mindfully- Opeyemi Fatimah Beredugo

In 2018 I opened an Instagram page for my business and I was able to get about 30 new customers through that medium, from different parts of the world. From that time till now, this is about 5 years after, some of those customers have stayed, some have left and some have become friends. I have gotten more customers since then as well, so essentially my business and I have benefited positively from the use of social media.

Over the last decade, social media has transformed our lives, relationships, and the ways we interact with others. In many ways, this is a great thing. We have the ability to seek and/or share information and keep in touch with people all around the world in a way we never have before.

This ability to share photos, opinions, and events in real-time has transformed the way we live and the way we do business.

Social media is any digital tool that allows users to quickly create and share content with the public. Social media encompasses a wide range of websites and apps. Current popular examples of social media platforms include social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, which are built to optimize the sharing of photos and videos, photo sharing sites like Flickr and Pinterest, video sharing sites like YouTube, business networking sites like LinkedIn, micro blogging sites like Twitter, and numerous others.

WHY DO WE USE IT?

There is a myriad of reasons why people use social media. Amongst the so many different reasons why people use social media, here are a few:

• Social interaction. People use social media to connect and keep in touch with family and friends, interact with people they do not regularly see, chat with old acquaintances, and meet new friends.
• Information seeking. To find information about sales, deals, or products; find information on events and parties; get information about businesses, for self-education, get how-to-instructions, get help with difficult subjects, and to learn new things.
• Information sharing. to share information about you with others. Unlike television and the internet, social media is interactive in nature and allows consumers to communicate and share information via a two-way dialogue. To post updates and share pictures. Some advertise their business on Facebook and some share information in order to market themselves.
• Entertainment activities including playing games, listening to music, and watching videos, for humor and comic relief.

THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media enables you to:

• Communicate and stay up to date with family and friends around the world.
• Find new friends and communities.
• Network with other people who share similar interests or ambitions.
• Join or promote worthwhile causes.
• Raise awareness on important issues.
• Market your business by promoting yourself as a person and sharing how you can help others accomplish their goals.

With all these reasons stated, my question to YOU is “Why are you using social media?”. Starting with the “WHY” in anything is always so important.

Even with all of these positive benefits, people tend to get lost in social media and numerous studies have linked the use of social media to:

• Depression,
• Anxiety,
• Poorer sleep quality,
• Lower self-esteem,
• Inattention and
• Hyperactivity — often in teens and adolescents.

Myles Munroe, in a famous quote, states: “When purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable”. I believe this also applies to social media; if you don’t know what it does or what it is supposed to do for you, there is a tendency to misuse it. So it is important to be mindful.

WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?

Mindfulness is being fully present, noticing our thoughts and feelings and bringing intentionality to each moment and action.

Put another way, mindfulness means cultivating and maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our environment, physical sensations, thoughts and feelings.

Practicing mindfulness helps us become aware of our emotions as they rise and fall, creating a space between how we might emotionally react to a situation and a healthy, measured response. Mindfulness is especially important in today’s world because social media has become increasingly important and pervasive.

The mindful use of social media can have immense benefits for our businesses, our personal lives, and our professional relationships.

My focus today is on being mindful in 2 Forms / Perspectives

1. Proper social etiquette in using social media i.e. Communication, language, grammar, using the appropriate social media for its intended use, etc.
2. Security i.e. Being social security conscious – which entails being conscious about details that you share on social media – are u telling people how much you are making, where you live, showing off your car plate numbers etc. If you wouldn’t go about on the streets telling people about that – imagine social media as cyber streets, therefore be mindful about what you share.

Mindfulness is a strategy you can use to reap the benefits of social media while downplaying its negatives. To use social media mindfully means paying full attention to what you are

1. Creating and
2. Consuming

In creating,

1. Identify why you want to use social media – your objectives or what you hope to achieve with it. Also identify the social media you want to be on. I doubt if it is possible to be on all social media platforms and be active on all of them at the same time. You might be stretching yourself too thin.
2. Add on only what is necessary towards achieving your predetermined goals, and take away unnecessary social media platforms that provide zero fulfillment towards your goals.
3. Decide/Determine how you want to project/present yourself on the social media platforms you have identified without compromising your privacy or security. What information will you be sharing; random musings, educational, instructional, motivational, entertainment etc.

In consuming,

1. Be intentional with how you’re interacting with social media, make better choices that will help you foster a healthy relationship with it. If you’re not sure of your intentions for being on social media, maybe you should consider staying offline for the time being. It’s more difficult to achieve satisfaction on social media if you don’t know what you want out of it.
2. Be honest with yourself about how much time you spend on social media and how each interaction makes you feel. Disengage from interactions that increase stress or unhappiness. Make sure your feed is filled with posts that you genuinely enjoy seeing and would encourage you to regularly interact with.
3. Exercise restraint and balance in your social media diet and engage in social interaction offline. Disengage from social media to spend quality time with family and friends and to have time for other activities.
4. Be fully present with whatever moment you’re in, in your real-life social interactions, with your surroundings, as well as your own sensations and feelings, rather than tuning out into a digital world during every available moment.
5. When you are on social media, interact & engage with others. After all that is what it was designed for. Don’t just skim and scroll through your feed. Interact with the people who post there—by giving them feedback, liking their photos and videos, sending messages, etc.

You might also find that you feel better if you took a break from social media for a few days or weeks, every once in a while or whenever possible. ESPECIALLY if your social media experience consistently feels pressured and negative. Taking occasional breaks from social media should help you to maintain perspective, and help you to remember that social media is intended to be a positive experience.

By being more mindful in our use of social media, we can derive greater contentment from our interactions, and the world is in dire need of such mindfulness right now.

When we focus on being mindful, we connect to our highest self and act in alignment with our highest ideals and values, ensuring everybody wins – you most of all!

Brief Profile

Opeyemi Fatimah Beredugo is an entrepreneur and accomplished HSEQ professional with over 18 years’ experience in the Engineering, Oil & Gas, Technology and Finance industries.

She has a Masters in Business Administration from Obafemi Awolowo university, has attended several courses and has several certifications.

She is the Managing Director of Faboluxury Resources Ltd and Co-Founder of R and B Foundation.

She mentors ladies in personal development, career development, business, management, finance, and productivity.