We are all aware that social media can be addictive. Sadly, some people are not even aware that they are suffering from social media addiction. A lot of people have also experienced how social media can ruin relationships. Despite its widespread, negative effects; social media actually has its benefits if used correctly.
1. Staying Connected
The most basic feature of social media channels is to keep people in touch with each other even when they are physically far away. Of course, this has now been used to grow an influencer’s audience and for celebrities to interact with their fans. For families, it is still a useful tool to stay connected with loved ones and friends. A lot of romantic relationships also thrive with it even when they live on opposites sides of the globe. Many organizations also use it to stay in touch with their members and supporters and inform them of activities and projects to serve a good cause.
2. Sharing Your Knowledge
As they say, “sharing is caring” but this is only true if you are sharing something of value. You can use social media to share your expertise on a specific field or your skills. Yes, you are essentially promoting yourself in the process. But you are also informing people who might need your expertise or skills to help them with their own projects. Or you might be sharing some information that is the answer to somebody’s question. You don’t know who can benefit from your own unique knowledge and experience. The important thing is to be honest about your intentions so you can manage your audience’s expectations of what you are offering.
3. Learning From Others
Just as you can share your own expertise on social media and teach others, you can learn from others too. One of the benefits of being on social media is that you can learn from experts anytime you want. You don’t have to feel embarrassed or nervous or be awkward around them like when meeting them personally. You can learn from them to turn your hobby into your dream job or online business. If you are brave enough, you can even ask them questions in the comments or in a private message. Who knows, they might actually have the time to reply with an answer.
4. Growing Your Network
Have you heard the saying that “your network is your net worth“? You might think that this does not apply to social media relationships since you can have such a large number of friends and followers. However, there are still people on your online channels who you constantly interact with aside from your family members. They are the ones who make up your network. Of course, there will also be friends you will meet in life in your online social circles. But, just like in real life, you also have to be selective of who you actually keep in your online social circle.
As long as used correctly and for good intent; social media has a lot of benefits. Just make sure to be disciplined enough to have a set time for checking your feed so you still stay productive. Memes abound in social media as well as a lot of fake news. So if you are going to share; make sure you are sharing something worthwhile. Think before you click and try to keep a positive vibe on your interactions with other people whenever you’re online.
Feature Image: Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.