How many times have you checked
Facebook today? Tweeted? LinkedIn with another random person
you'll never meet?
Social media dominates the modern
world we live in, and has seemingly stopped us actually being sociable in the true
meaning of the word.
Despite the fact that Facebook now has
around a billion users worldwide (that's 1,000,000,000,000 which is a lot of
zeros), how often do those people have meaningful conversations or interactions
with their ACTUAL "friends"?
Around 95% of Facebook users log into their
account EVERY day, with 60% of Twitter users doing the same. That's a lot of
liking, poking and twatting...sorry, I mean tweeting!
So how can this affect your
wellbeing?
Whilst research into the impact of
using social media websites is in its infancy, there are concerns over
the potential negatives. Lack of face to face contact with other humans, more
time alone, more time tweeting about how much you had to drink last night...
And of course less time moving around and
keeping fit!
Some reports suggest the development
of a "social media depression" as more and more people interact
online and compare themselves to the idealised profiles and avatars of those
they follow.
But is social media all that bad?
After all, it allows friends and family to keep in touch with those they may
not see that often, share photos of their happy families and tell the world
about what they've just had for dinner.
#tweetwhatyoueat right?
I'm not going to sit here and tell you
to delete all of your social media apps, or to sever all links with your virtual
"friends" but it is a thought provoking topic that I question on a
regular basis personally. Having a Facebook friends "cull" is always
pretty satisfying, wouldn't you agree?
Have a think though, and if you're
spending more time retweeting or sharing photos of cute fluffy cats (whatever
makes you happy eh?) than talking to your friends and family or playing with
your kids, then perhaps it's time to re-evaluate things.
As health and fitness professionals,
social media offers us a vast number of potential opportunities. Be it
promoting your business, connecting with current or potential clients, or
keeping in touch with like-minded individuals to share opinions on the latest
industry trends. Or re-tweeting a video of Dwayne
"The Rock" Johnson having a "cheat meal".
But it could also have a negative
impact by distracting you from what you really should be doing. As ever, the key is to find a balance.
By all means use social media to your advantage, but don't let it interfere
with your life.
After initially putting this article
together I took action, something I'd been telling myself I would do for some
time. What did I do? I deleted the Facebook app from my phone. I know, can you
imagine?!
The freedom it gave me was actually
pretty amazing! Now, I could have deleted my account and never gone back on it again, but I do see the plus side of Facebook and use it to keep in touch
with friends and family so I'm in no hurry to rid it from my life
completely...yet.
I still have Facebook on my iPad but
this now means I can only access it when I have wifi, meaning that I'm
not connected 24 hours a day. And guess what? I'm not missing much and can
easily catch up on the day's events!
So here it is...I implore you to find
a way to reduce the time you spend on your social media feeds, and start having
real conversations with those who really matter to you.
Ironically this blog post will appear
on Facebook and Twitter, sorry about that!
Chris
Chris Foster is a health and fitness
professional with 10 years' industry experience. He has worked as a Fitness
Instructor, Personal Trainer, Club Manager, Regional Clinical Lead Health &
Wellbeing Physiologist, Clinic Manager, Physiology Training and Recruitment
Manager and Wellbeing Implementation Lead. Chris is passionate about helping
people live healthier lives through proactive lifestyle choices, as well as
driving the level of professionalism within the industry.
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