Here’s a question: Do you remember what you did before social media took up hours these days? In 2008, before Facebook received worldwide attention, you were probably spending more time on hobbies like reading, exercising, or maybe even watching movies and listening to music. There wasn’t as much pressure to follow other people’s lives and FOMO wasn’t even much of a fear back then. A few years later, new social media websites appeared. Over ten years later, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram have become the ultimate combination of distractions that have dominated our lives.
Due to social media, we have undeniably developed this urgent need to share everything online and learn what everyone has to say no matter what they say. While it can cause positive things like meeting new friends or being able to engage in important topics in our society, it has also led to depression, social isolation and even image issues. bodily for some people. It’s inevitable to have a sense of FOMO when we see everyone living more interesting lives than us. What we don’t realize is that these well-composed images of high life are only a fraction of the other person’s truth.
The point is, stepping away from social media has never hurt anyone. Some may raise their eyebrows and think that you are completely crazy for deciding to detox yourself from social media. “But, how will you know what’s going on around you?” maybe their first question. The answer (and frankly, the gist of why you need to detox first) is that we don’t really need to know everything.
If you’re someone still wondering if it’s worth doing a digital detox, here are a few reasons why you should take a break from social media:
- It makes you feel like you don’t have enough time.
We’ve all been there: that moment when we feel like we don’t have time to complete the work we set out to do. Ironically, it’s almost always because we’ve spent so much time hunching over our smartphones to check out what our friends are doing. And honestly, it’s not entirely your fault! Social media apps were designed to be addictive. They did this so that you don’t feel like you’ve spent too much time scrolling through your feed.
- He has taught you to focus on other people more.
Social media is full of people posting about their successes, travels, and fun events they’ve attended. You can’t really blame them because we are, of course, predisposed to only show the good things that are happening in our lives. However, when we see other people doing it, we tend to feel a certain level of jealousy or disappointment. Studies have even shown that people who spend a lot of their time on social media report having lower self-esteem and more anxiety.
When we only see the beautiful but filtered realities of others, while we seem to only feel the ugly realities every day of our lives, it’s no surprise that we feel sorry for ourselves. We have shifted our attention to others, instead of focusing on our individual growths. We don’t share the same timeline for progress, and sadly, that’s something social media can’t teach us.
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- It distracts you from your goals.
As social media feeds us hundreds of pieces of information – a mix of fake news, real news, and mundane things that other people post about – we tend to get distracted from the things we really need to be aware of. focus.
We set our goals because we consider these things to be our priorities. Anything that takes time out of our work, whether on social media or not, are mere distractions that will not help achieve our goals.
- It breaks our borders.
Every time we post something about ourselves, we are submitting ourselves to the review of anyone who sees our profiles. Our personal spaces can be overrun with negativity and toxicity when we spend too much time in the world of social media. By taking breaks from social media, we are setting healthier boundaries. Remember, we are always in control of what we welcome and share in our lives.
- It has become your primary form of socialization.
Of course, social media has given us the convenience of messaging, video calling, and meeting new people on the Internet. However, it is not far from the truth when we say that it also made us believe that it is enough to maintain relationships. The truth is, any relationship requires more than the occasional phone call and conversation. These interactions can be very superficial and have the potential to make us feel more alone than we really are.
READ ALSO: 9 Ways Not To Let Social Media Run And Ruin Your Relationship
- It made you forget the joys of time alone.
You’ll know you’re not at peace with yourself when you suddenly feel the need to open up your social media timelines to check out what others are doing. There really is nothing wrong with it, but if it becomes something that distracts us from the comfort of taking care of ourselves in real life, it becomes more of an unhealthy habit.
There is no denying that social media can be great for us if used to share ideas and thoughts with our loved ones. However, it’s also true that it’s become more of a distraction from the real things that matter, like our productivity, relationships, and sanity.
Digital detox is the answer to all of these problems. When we limit the time we spend going through our timelines and flows, we will have more time for ourselves, others, and the things that make us truly happy. As we said before, social media is only a small fraction of our entire life. There is a whole universe worth exploring, and you are already sticking to it. All you have to do is turn off your phone, search, and start.
