At the Intersection of Social Media and Gratitude
I’ve been thinking about gratitude more lately. Partly that’s because there’s so much negativity in the world right now, and especially in politics. Facebook, in particular, has been very negative, with depressing stories being shared more than ever.
Social Media Affects Your Mental Health
There are numerous articles and studies about how social media affects your mental health, including this one from Forbes: 6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health. The article’s author Alice G. Walton states “Rather than enhancing well-being, as frequent interactions with supportive ‘offline’ social networks powerfully do, the current findings demonstrate that interacting with Facebook may predict the opposite result for young adults—it may undermine it.”
One Person Can Make a Difference
Do you believe that? Because I do. If there’s too much negativity out there, why not counter it with something positive. As you’re tooling around your social media sites, why not leave a few kind, considerate thoughts for someone else?
Say Thank You–It’s Not That Tough!
Seriously, thank the people who’ve helped you. Maybe you can’t always retweet them or post something of theirs, but say thank you if it’s at all feasible. If you’re a big brand, occasionally issue a blanket thank you for everyone’s sharing an article. Or have a customer appreciation day. If you’re a non-profit, you can thank people publically, give shoutouts to those who helped the most, thank volunteers and donors, etc.
Gratitude Has Many Benefits
There have been many studies about the benefits of gratitude. As you might see in this article The 31 Benefits of Gratitude, the benefits can be emotional, and can affect your personality, career, or social life. And gratitude can affect your happiness, too. Have you read my previous post about having a gratitude strategy? You might like it.
What’s Your Gratitude Strategy?
Do you have one? Why or why not? Leave me a comment–I’d be very grateful if you did!
Hi Carol,
I know for sure you bring out the best in people where I see you most on Twitter and Instagram. Kudos to you for staying above the fray.
You are so right about the negativity. I have stopped following some people and avoid interacting on some conversations because even when you try to bring in positivity the conversations still goes downhill. I don’t do much on FB except maintain an empty profile so I can keep my business page there. And I don’t really interact much on that page either.
On a positive note, I love interacting with some friendly folks I’ve found through your posts and DigiBlogChat.
Thanks,
Patricia
Hi Patricia,
Thanks so much for saying so. Some days it’s tough to not get into all the controversy and complaining!
I think the negativity comes with a price. People might feel better in the short run when they gripe, but in the long run, it ends up hurting them. I know what you mean about Facebook!
Thanks so much for being a regular on the chat. We do have fun!
And I’m enjoying the return labels (I know it’s a small thing, but they make me smile every time!).
Carol