Q: How can I find a balance on social media?

Dear Socialite,

You are not alone, I promise!

I one hundred percent get sucked in to social media, more often than I’d like to admit.

And once I finally snap out of it, I’ve already wasted so much of my time. Guilty as charged!

Real talk, our lives are not meant to revolve around social media, although it increasingly feels as if they do.

I believe social media can be a successful tool only once boundaries are incorporated.

There are some features on iPhone that allow you to set a time limit and receive a notification when you’ve spent X amount of time on it. Or if you feel like you can handle more than that, delete the apps for a couple days at a time.

One thing I want you to think about though, is what do you feel that you are missing out on? Your family and friends that you know on a deeper level than social media, will check in on you.

If you’re good friends and there is a huge update in their life, they will most likely contact you directly. You won’t miss your best friend’s engagement because you didn’t check Instagram. At least I hope not.

Now, if what you feel like you’ll be missing out on is updates on people you don’t know in real life, you’ll start to realize the longer you stay away, the less you care.

And to be honest, the inspirational people we follow that make us feel ‘good’ can do the opposite at times because we still compare ourselves to them. No one is perfect. And majority of the time, all social media shows us is perfection.

Not many people on social media will voluntarily post the negatives in their life. It’s all sunshine and rainbows and comparing to that is a recipe for disaster.

Just remember that no one’s life is as perfect as they make it seem on social media. All the influencers you love to keep up on won’t miss you for a couple days and you’ll start to realize you don’t miss them either.

Life is right in front of us, just not in a little tiny screen.

Hugs + Lashes,

Ellie + Caitlyn