Social media has become so prevalent these days that many folks are making a career out of it (like ourselves :)! From social media managers to content creators to small business owners, there are a ton of professionals using social media platforms to their advantage. Creators and brands most likely spend the majority of their time on Instagram.
Although Instagram is a great way to build a community and market yourself or your business, it can also take a toll on your mental health. Luckily, Instagram offers a few tools and features that can help protect your mental health at work and create a more mindful digital environment.
8 Ways to Create a More Mindful Experience on Instagram
We all know how difficult it can be to balance social media for personal use and for work. Those hours spent scrolling, answering DM’s, and responding to comments can easily add up so much that you may even forget to switch off “work-mode” when using social media for personal use. Thankfully, Instagram offers some features and tools to help you “unplug” and create a more mindful space:
1. Mute Push Notifications on Instagram
Sometimes we just need a break from Instagram notifications, especially ones that are not important or helpful for your business. You can use Instagram’s mute feature to silence push notifications for things such as likes, comments, tags, DM’s, and more. You can even mute specific accounts if you find their notifications to be too much.
If you need a break from Instagram notifications, go to your settings, select “Notifications” and turn on “Pause All” to mute notifications from anywhere between 15 minutes to 8 hours. No need to go back into your settings to turn notifications back on because they will automatically reset when the time is up.
2. Schedule Your Instagram Content in Advance
You will be saving tons of time if you schedule your content and posts in advance. There are many apps out there that can help you schedule your content, like Later. Apps like these will make your content “live” when it’s the best time to post, without you having to log on to the Instagram app. Scheduling your content in advance is one of the best ways to gain some you-time.
3. Manage Your Time Spent on Instagram
By using the Daily Reminder tool Instagram offers, you will become more mindful of how much time you spend on the app and use your time more efficiently. As stated before, we know that you can spend hours responding to comments or looking for new leads.
4. Block Offensive Comments
No one likes seeing offensive comments and they can have such an impact on your mental health, so might as well block them! Instagram has included this feature on their app in an effort to combat the rise of bullying, while also offering other tools and features to block the haters. If you’d like to block offensive comments, go to the “Privacy” page from your settings menu and click “Comments.” From there, you’ll be able to adjust the settings to your liking and there you go!
5. Delete Multiple Comments in One Go
As a social media manager, one of your many jobs is to protect your community from negative interactions. Although we support open and honest conversations on social media platforms, trolling is not okay. Because of this, Instagram has created the option to mass delete comments to save you some time. You can also pin the positive comments to show other users that this is not a space for haters.
6. Choose Who Can Mention or Tag You
Another way that Instagram has made efforts to tackle bullying is by including an option to choose who’s allowed to mention or tag you in comments, captions, stories, and Live broadcasts. You can choose to allow mentions or tags from “Everyone,” “People You Follow,” or “No One.”
7. Restrict (or Block) Hateful Accounts
Instagram has also introduced the Restrict tool. If there’s a user who constantly brings negativity or spammy vibes to your comments and DM’s, you can use this tool. If you restrict a user, you will have to approve comments before they can be seen by anyone else, and their messages will be sent to a different inbox. However, if you feel that blocking this person is the better option, then do it. No one needs a troll hanging around on their account.
8. Unfollow (or Mute) Accounts That Don’t Make You Feel Good
The best way to become more mindful of the content you consume is to do a quick peek at who you're following and ask yourself if the people you follow really align with your values, or if you’re getting caught up in the comparison game. You always want to follow accounts that make you feel good, but if there are accounts you can’t unfollow due to work reasons, then you can mute them to create some space without losing the connection.
These 8 tools can help you create a more positive and mindful digital space on Instagram, but it’s still important to continue to do daily or weekly check-ins with yourself too. Setting boundaries, taking screen breaks, and seeking support when you need it are all steps you can take to protect your mental health at work and at home. Make sure you are taking care of yourself and remember, it’s okay to take a break from social media sometimes.