Are you clicking on Facebook and Instagram multiple times a day, usually without thinking about it? If so, you might be more addicted to social media than you realize. According to an article in Quartz, Americans now spend an average of eight hours a day consuming media. While social media can certainly be useful for connecting with friends, it’s overtaken many people’s lives. However, shutting it out completely doesn’t seem like a particularly realistic option for most of us. It’s why finding ways to balance your social media and offline life are actually super important for a meaningful existence.
Social influencer Macy Mariano(Read more about her here), who has followers on her IG. is here to share her tips for us how to balance real life & social media:
What are your 5 ways to balance between Real Life & Social Media?
Firstly, I never compare myself to others on the platform. I feel like this is a big one for women. No one is you and that is your power. People don’t show their failures on IG and rarely show how they actually look, so I never worry about anyone but myself.
Secondly, I started taking one day off from Instagram. On Sunday’s, (No Social Sunday) I enjoy the day and I don’t post anything! No posts, no stories, nothing! This idea started with my friends @thejessicaexperience and @oliviapw. They inspired me to start.
So, every Sunday I take a break. Another one, I would say is I don’t get worried about being “liked”. A lot of people post an image as a way to boost confidence/ego or have their follower’s approval of how they are, but in the end, they don’t really know them. I worry about I am in real life and how I make people feel about themselves.
My fourth way of balance is I put my priorities first, which is my family and partner. I never want to miss an opportunity to get real family time or one-on-one time with my boyfriend. So, I put my phone away, and BE there with them. Even though IG is part of my job, these people are part of my life. They are the most important!
Lastly, I never view social media as a competition. Although the industry is competitive, that’s not a purpose of why I am on the platform, to compete. Most women OR men can view other influencers like as “in the way” and think they need to be better. Instead, I reach out, network, collaborate, and most of all I have made wonderful friends through this platform. If this is all a competition, where is the fun? What is the purpose?
How do you cope with criticism via Social Media?
I don’t let it bother me. I never entertain it. Luckily enough for me, I have never found much hate on my profile! People will always have an opinion and judge you. It’s inevitable. A lot of people are unhappy with themselves, so they take it out on other people. So, I never let criticism, pettiness, or negative energy come my way through this platform. Life is too short to focus on things like that. As long as your happy with what you post and create, that’s all that matters.
When do you find yourself drowning in the Social Media world and what do you do to get out of it?
It’s mostly when I have nothing to do. When I’m bored or at home, I find myself more on social media, which is a good thing…I think. I wouldn’t want to be out and about or with family and friends while on the app. So, if anything it’s out of boredom. I try to get out of it by keeping busy, because when busy, I’m not on my phone all the time! So, either shooting content, house chores, writing up a travel blog, or playing UNO with my boyfriend (lol) is how I get out of the Instagram world. I never consider myself ‘drowning’, so I think I am doing a good job ☺
How do you have a healthy relationship with social media?
I relax, breathe. After all, it is a platform and not real life. I don’t let myself get sucked in. I put my phone down at dinner, pay attention when people are talking to me, and overall not let it consume/change me as a person.
How do you set your boundaries?
I set my boundaries by what I’m comfortable with and what my audience likes to see. I always ask every month with questions on stories if they prefer this or that, if they would like to see more of something etc.… just for me to know what I should do more or less of. I am a travel and style page, so I will definitely show those two aspects.
For posting, a boundary I have is not showing much or a certain body part on my feed. No butt or boob pics for this classy gal! 😉 If something is shown, I artistically cover myself to make it appropriate to my following. Also, if I did that, naturally I would attract more of a male following, so in that case those images a no-go’s. I don’t post any political/religious related content, just because people judge very quickly and also could put my following at risk.
What general boundary should any social media user have?
I think any social media user should have an awareness of what they post. So, if anything the boundary is awareness. Make sure it’s appropriate and catered to your following.
Social Influencers tend to have higher anxiety rate, can you relate? If you do, how do you manage your mental health? If not, what do you think can cost anxiety?
Anxiety for me is not so much social media related. It’s work related! If anything, anxiety is for me is related to executing deadlines, event dates, content approvals, brand outreach, and scheduling shoot days. However, I don’t get anxiety much, because I like what I do, and I feel like I have a good grasp on the organization of how I run my days throughout the week. Posting an image on Instagram is easy, it’s the work behind it that can be stressful. So being organized, scheduled, and relaxed at the same time helps my mental health.
Who do you influence and how?
Well, I hope I influence all of my followers! I think I influence them by being me. I hope to influence a lot of people to be themselves. I am always genuine and real, so I hope that goes a long way with my audience. Being those two things are rare to see nowadays. I also get a lot of messages on how to edit images and use presets as well. So, I always answer questions about that too!
What is your worst experience in the digital world?
I lost a friend of twelve years due to social media. I knew her since 7th grade. We did everything together. Everyone knew we were inseparable. The more her follower base grew, the more she became conceited and egotistic. She changed as a talked about other “IG models” and influencers, made terrible friends, and became even more insecure than she was.
Her real world was and still is, social media. It consumed her. I realized one day, as she was texting me, I just didn’t feel like hanging out with her. At one-point last year, I had to cut her off respectfully, and sadly because I couldn’t let her energy affect me. A perfect example, on how important is it to balance yourself while using social media.
As an influencer how do you keep up with social media if you’re going through a bad time?
If I am going through a bad time, I wouldn’t keep up with it until I feel like enough time has passed. Even though it is my job, I would put things on hold for a bit, then shortly resume. Self-reflection or grieving of any sort is important to overcome, so I couldn’t let that affect my work. If anything, I would put a short story post explaining I am taking a break and that’s it. A private life is the best life.
What advice would you give other influencers?
Honestly, BE YOURSELF. Don’t change as a person because of this platform. Don’t compete with anyone. Don’t compare yourself to others. You will stress yourself out if this happens and then social media won’t be fun anymore. Share what you love and do it for the right reasons!
How do you notice when an influencer is fake?
I’ll notice an influencer is fake by matching their following with their engagement. Ex. If an influencer has 120k and is receiving 1K likes, most likely some of their following is fake. However, then again everyone has different engagement and following. Looking at engagement is important.
How do you know if someone is being themselves? And how do you stay honest and true to your followers?
I know someone is being themselves when they are being themselves on social media! Which I do all the time ☺ It’s the best. It feels so good not to hide any part of you and to not care what people think. I always demonstrate stories how goofy I am, and people really like that. I feel like being yourself on social media goes a long way and helps with balancing. I stay honest and true to my following by talking to them, responding to DM’s, comments, and questions. I feel when you interact, the more they appreciate you and follow for that purpose. I also choose partnerships and brands to work with that I can use/relate to in daily life. So that way all my content is organic and true.
