Try something new for 30 days . . . it might just change your life

Social Media 30 day Challenges

Social media is the joy and bane of our modern existence. It's wonderful to connect all your friends and family, but it's also terrifying, anxiety-inducing, and highly addictive. And, as everyone knows, it's a giant timesuck. Wall-E may have had it right – we may all degenerate into wheel-chair bound, out of shape, social media zombies.

In that tone, here are some things you can do try with social media for a 30 day challenge.

  1. Stop posting. Put a pause on posting and checking social media. A complete cold turkey is hard, but certainly doable, especially for only 30 days. Try it and see if you feel better. I guarantee you that ot will all still be there 30 days later.

  2. Post every day. Here s the opposite strategy. Full engagement. Post every day. Shock and awe your friends. At least for 30 days. See what happens and how you feel at the end. My guess is elation initially, then depression. Try It if you are interested.

  3. Friend purge. Take a good look at your friends. I will need the ones that aren't really friends and focus on what's important. My guess is that you enjoy social media a little more even if you reach isn't as far. Plan to have your list of friends and criteria for friend selection solid by the end of the 30 days.

  4. Friend explosion. Again, the opposite strategy. Friend everybody. It's like the movie “Yes Man.” Say yes to every friend request. Send anyone you know a friend request. Just see what happens. This is actually a good strategy on Twitter to build your following. Not sure how effective it'll be on Facebook or Instagram though. You may enjoy it.

  5. Privacy check up. This should be a regular challenge for all social media networks. The social networks constantly change their privacy settings. And you have to constantly stay on top of it. Otherwise, you're broadcasting all your personal details to the world. Some people are fine with that, but many are not. At least be aware of what you're doing. Try to understand all the privacy settings f each network so you will be all adjusted and up to date by the end of 30 days. Then scheduled the challenge again in another year or so.

  6. Develop social media estate plan. This is something often overlooked. What happens to your posts after your death? If your friends and family don't have your passwords, it will be difficult to do anything with the posts and profile. Develop a plan upfront on how to deal with these issues and what your wishes are. Our social media profiles have become important parts of our lives, and they should be treated no differently than any other important part of your life. Take 30 days and come up with a plan.