Is the social media boom over?1 Maybe. Evidence suggests that while people are still on social media, they are using it less. It’s not too surprising, given that we no longer need social media as a lifeline to our social world. We are back at work and school and out wandering around. We often forget, however, that social media, like all our devices, is just a tool. When the things we’re doing change, so do the tools we use. However, habitual behaviors often go unnoticed, and the pandemic definitely created new patterns and habits. It’s the perfect time to do a personal media SWOT analysis and see if your media use aligns with your current goals.

SWOT—an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats—is an approach most frequently used by organizations. However, it can be applied to any individual or activity to take stock of the current situation and identify what is working well and what isn’t. During COVID, social media filled a void. It provided a much-needed sense of connection. It was also a source of entertainment and stress relief. We were enamored with the explosion of TikTok’s easy, authentic, and raw videos and their sense of social presence. We texted and Zoomed in for family events. We repeatedly streamed "The Office" and "Friends," and we flocked to YouTube videos to learn knitting, butter churning, and yoga.

Despite all that media, the pandemic was a period of prolonged stress. Chronic stress, as you know, is bad. When the fight-or-flight system stays turned on, bad things can happen, including poor sleep quality, post-traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, depression2 and increased stress reactivity.3 We also went through two-plus years where our in-person social skills lay dormant.

The pandemic left us hypersensitive, fearful, and suspicious with rusty interpersonal skills. Getting back into the social........

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