You’ll hear a lot of people say that social media is bad for you. But we all know there are some great ways that you can use social media safely and healthily. Here are some of the Screen Savers’ suggestions on how to make sure social media works well for you.

Get Creative

Social media is a great way to show people how creative you are! It could be photography, or animation, or writing. Whatever you are interested in, why not come up with a regular creative project that you could share with friends and family through social media?

Not feeling creative yourself? Why not share other people’s creativity with those you are connected to? Post a link to your favourite animation or painting. Let others be inspired by them in the same way you are.

Use Social Media – Don’t Let It Use You

Do you remember why you signed up for social media in the first place?There is so much to do on social media, sometimes it’s easy to end up doing a bit too much of it.

If you’re finding that social media is starting to get you down, take some time out from it. Remind yourself what you enjoyed about it at the beginning, and try to get back to that when you join in again.

Learn Something New

There are lots of ways to use social media to learning something new. You can choose to do something that you enjoy, and pick up or perfect your skills. If you like drawing for example, some illustrators and artists do online sessions where you can watch them draw live.

You could learn British Sign Language or even go on virtual tours of places like museums. Some zoos and safari parks have webcams so you can watch the animals and learn about them.

Unfollow Negative Accounts

Some people can often be very negative on social media. They complain about things, or disagree with everyone. Sometimes they can even bully the people they are speaking to.

If you find someone is getting too much for you, the easiest thing to do is to stop following their account. You don’t have to tell them you’ve done it but it will make you feel better in the long run.

Are You Sure You Want To Say That?

The same is true for how you use social media. If you’ve had a bad day or are angry about something, you can sometimes say things you don’t mean to. You may not even realise you are doing it. Sometimes, our emotions can stop us seeing how we are treating others.

Stop and think before you post. Could someone be hurt by what you are saying? Or could someone take it the wrong way?