Setting Intentions for a Conscious Online Presence
Social media bad, necessary evil for marketing, rotting our brains and ruining our children , blah blah blah, you’ve heard all this before. You know the pitfalls of social media by now, and maybe you limit your time in those digital spaces, but if you create content for your business (or someone else’s), you can’t stay away for long.
This lunar cycle, I want to explore the idea that social media isn’t the digital equivalent of the ninth circle of hell. It also isn’t a wonderland full of rainbows and glitter (unless it’s June). Social media itself is purely neutral, and it’s the people around you that influence your social media experience. One key to making social media a positive space is to curate the people and brands you interact with.
I’m sure none of this is new information for you, but it’s the foundation on which I’ve built my practice of mindful social media engagement. The game changer for me was compartmentalizing my accounts so that each one had a purpose. I don’t just hop on TikTok and scroll for no reason anymore, I open each app and log in to each account with a set intention.
TikTok is actually the best example for me, since that’s the platform I spend the most time on, but this all happened sort of by accident because I had three separate accounts: a personal account that I followed family on and shared cute dog videos, a business account that I made to connect with other entrepreneurs and share my professional projects, and a gaming account that I made to promote my streaming persona (brief throwback to my Twitch Vtuber era).
I realized that the algorithms were actually decently separated, and I naturally started switching accounts based on what content I wanted to consume.
My personal account was where I’d scroll for mukbangs, recipes, household tips, and other cutesy videos reminiscent of my high school Pinterest boards. My gaming account was where I’d go for the latest news on my favorite games, tips to improve my stream, and other geeky interests (i.e. an unfathomable amount of Catradora edits). And when I wanted to learn new things, meet new people, and be inspired by other’s art and systems, I logged on to my business account.
Eventually I decided I wanted to have a space for my spiritual practice, so I made a new account and followed hashtags and creators I found until I had made a magical digital haven. With platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter especially, it’s really easy to have multiple accounts, so you can set intentions when you get online. Maybe you don’t need four different accounts like me, but discovering the focus and benefit of interacting in your digital spaces can make setting intentions way more natural (and therefore easier to stick with!).
Questions to ask yourself this week:
How can I approach social media with curiosity and an open mind while staying true to my values? In what ways can I nurture my online circles and create a space of growth and abundance?
Next week, I’m going to be sharing an action plan for the First Quarter Moon with paid subscribers, so stay tuned for that. This week though, enjoy the New Moon, and let’s plant a seed of mindful social media engagement!
