Understandably, social media, in general, has a bad reputation for good and valid reasons.
The complaints I most often see revolve around the trolling and harassment that come with using the various platforms.
As a 17-year “veteran” of social media, I totally get it, having been on the receiving end of a lot of trolling and negative and nasty comments over the years, especially since becoming a media analyst and a writer for conservative websites.
Some people try to pick senseless online fights, presumably because they’re bored. There is also doxxing, where harassers try to silence you by threatening to expose your personal information. Along with that are the bullies who think wishing violence, sexual assault or death upon you is an appropriate form of “debate.”
On balance, though, there is much good that also comes from social media.
For instance, there are legions of DIYers on various social media platforms who show you different ways to do things, some of which “click” with you and get you inspired and motivated.
For example, over the last several months, my motivation to start projects I’ve wanted to do around the house has been nearly nonexistent. Beyond the basics, which include cleaning, washing clothes and dishes, etc., I just hit a rut when it came to taking the initiative to get up and get started on my lengthy “to-do” list for the house.
In recent weeks, however, I came across a video from a YouTuber that turned out to be a game-changer for me.
She noted she had developed a frustrating penchant for procrastinating, not just on the big projects but the small ones. But she found something that worked for her called the “five-minute rule,” where you set a timer for five minutes and start on something you’ve been wanting to do but just felt too overwhelmed to take the first step.
Once the five minutes were up, she said, there was a strong likelihood you’d keep going. It was psychological, tricking your brain into thinking, “Yeah, I can handle five minutes’ worth of work on this project.”
If you stopped at the five-minute mark rather than continuing, that was that much you’d gotten behind you for the next time you wanted to set your timer to pick up where you left off.
I tried it, and it worked for me, helping me break out of my “no motivation” funk to get our kitchen decluttered and, in the process, filling several boxes full of usable items to donate.
Over the years, I’ve also learned minor repairs and other cleaning tricks through YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, with perhaps my proudest achievement being the heating element I replaced in my oven, a $30 item that saved me hundreds of dollars on a new stove.
Then there was the bathroom backsplash project I did over a weekend, accomplished after much trial and error (more error than trial, I admit!).
Beyond the tips and tricks are the prayers. Without fail, when Mom and I have doctor appointments or something else going on that we request prayers over, they pour in, with people from all walks of life offering prayers and words of encouragement, which means everything when you and/or a loved one is going through a rough patch.
Simply put, while there is a lot of negative and nonsense on social media, there is a lot of good, too. It’s easy to lose faith in humanity when you log onto X and some of the other platforms, but if you go looking for the positive and block the negative when it hits, you’ll be much better off, and maybe even a much better person, after all is said and done.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.