With Special Guest @SharzadKiadeh
Sharzad is a host, podcaster & Youtuber known for being honest (and hilarious). She's literally a digital do it all - creating, producing and hosting content that are entertaining while opening people up to tell meaningful stories. So how does she maintain a healthy relationship with social media?
As a mom of two, Sharzad gets that parents juggle A LOT. As a storyteller, she knows how to turn those challenges into conversations that we can learn from and even laugh about. On this episode of Mama’s Lunch Box, Destiny chatted with Sharzad about what healthy social media habits look like, how to set boundaries and deal with the anxieties of social, all while actually having fun.
What do healthy social media habits mean to you?
- I started to create some because I noticed changes in my mood. I tried different things to elevate my mood. I check in with myself regularly and try to pay attention to what makes me feel good and what doesn’t.
What are your top 5 healthy social media habits?
- Do an audit of who you follow pretty regularly. I unfollowed people that make me feel insecure, or make me feel jealous, or less than. If I don’t want to unfollow, then mute them. I’m really mindful about what I’m seeing on my screen. I like to laugh. I'm very into comedy. It's a cure for everything. So I follow people who do funny shit on the Internet. Instagram has a lot of fashion bloggers and I felt like I had to follow them. Then I realized I don’t want to follow them because they don’t make me feel good. Tt’s empowering to choose.
- When with friends or eating or doing things that you love so much, don’t be on a screen. I want to be in the present moment. I don’t want to be on a screen all the time, and I don’t want my kids on their phones all the time either. I don’t want to miss out on life and that means putting my phone away.
- Have a 90’s day! My sister will text me to let me know when she’s not using her phone, she’ll just tell me I’m not going to use my phone today. It’s going to be a 90s day!
- During the day put my phone in one spot. I do this as a general rule. I’m pretty strict with my rules, but when my husband is out of town or something and I want my phone near me, obviously I’ll do that. But most days it stays in the kitchen.
- Don’t sleep with your phone in the room. I started doing this thing, I think this is someone else’s rule - I don't get credit, you do! I love it. I don’t want my first thoughts in the morning to be what someone else is doing on Instagram. I don’t want it to be the news, I don’t want to see someone else’s stuff when I wake up. No matter how strong minded you are, whether it’s good or bad, it’s going to affect you.
All in all, what do you hope parents remember from learning about healthy social media habits?
I love social media. It’s not like I’m above it. I’ve been doing online content creation for 10 years. I have made genuine friends from social media. We just need boundaries.
Resources from the Episode
- Follow @SharzadKiadeh for funny videos and family love.
- Check out Sharzad’s YouTube series, Not in My Circle where she has unfiltered discussions meant to inspire growth, curiosity and meet people outside of her world.
- Sharzad’s niece has Foxy Bella.
If you’d like to listen to more live chats, you can check out the whole IGTV series at www.instagram.com/redandoliveco/channel/
Produced in partnership with The Purpose Pilot.
