There’s been a lot of talk about the negative effects of social media on mental health. Scrolling through social media is portrayed as addictive behavior, like sugar or gambling, that isn’t good for us, and yet we keep doing it.

So what is the next step? Quit social media entirely? Give up looking at anything that might compromise your sense of self-confidence? The negative effects of constant comparison on social media are real, but we don’t have to run in the other direction.

Instead, we can look at social media—specifically our use of it— as a barometer for modern society as a whole. It amplifies our fears and obsessions, our desires and perceptions of how we view ourselves in the context of society. In that sense, it gives us a way to reflect on our own nature, even those aspects we would rather avoid.

If we examine our behavior and accept it rather than try to reverse or replace it with “healthier” habits, we might find solutions that don’t involve abstinence. Because let’s be realistic—most of us might make the resolution to lessen the time we spend on social media, only to find ourselves going back to our old habits.

And are those habits really that bad? At the end of the day, why do we even check our social media accounts? We might want to connect with someone we know, look to see if someone, even a stranger, has gone through similar experiences, or simply to alleviate boredom.

Psychologists and critics and have focused on how jumping to social media every time you’re bored eliminates possibilities for us to daydream. In her book “Bored and Brilliant,” Manoush Zomorodi argues that allowing ourselves to be bored can unlock those pockets of time for us to think out of the box and reflect on our lives. Jamming every spare second with a reactive impulse like checking social media takes away some of our inherent spontaneity and ability to connect and come up with new ideas.

All of that is true and we should keep it in mind. After all, if you’ve ever seen the deadpan, desperate stare of long-time casino goers, you would be wise to try to avoid that same relationship with your phone.

But it’s also easy to forget that social media is really in its infancy. “Connection” on social media has its critics, but those critics often fail to recognize that far more sophisticated ways of communicating are possible. We’re just not at that point. Yet.

If social media is the fabric of our society, then we have room to improve it, to make it more nuanced based on what we want and what we need. The social media platforms most of us use now are far from the only ones being developed. We’re used to monoliths like Facebook and Instagram, but there are several companies looking to disrupt their dominance and offer a more sophisticated platform.

One of those companies is uSync, which seeks to simplify social media by allowing users to connect with like-minded people, collaborate on meaningful projects, and discover new ideas, all in one, seamless platform. Darrell Lynn, uSync’s CEO and his R&D team is focused on delivery of a new platform that will  provide opportunities for a more meaningful and intentional experience. “Social media has just began to figure out what it is,” he says. “To push it forward we have to start  aligning it up with user expectations not our own. We’ve began with figuring out designs that fit our behaviors & align core technologies built for user defined relationships. When you get these things right, engagement online starts to work.”

Social media has its dark side. But one thing is for sure: it’s here to stay. It’s up to us how we’re going to use it, how we’re going to improve it, and how we’re going to let it guide us in better understanding ourselves.