Are you constantly gazing at your mobile screen? Scrolling through different profiles, commenting and sharing posts incessantly? Here are the top 8 reasons why you need a break from social media.
The social media craze became more uncontrollable. Even before the pandemic, it has been our means to stay connected with people and be updated with trends and fads. With picture-perfect life portrayals of people, you will not notice how much you are spending time watching everyone.
The virtual world is too ideal wherein perfect beach body, humblebrags of life achievements, and people’s productive life journey can be seen. Sometimes, scrolling through your feed gets you trapped with comparison games which unfortunately tails off your self-worth. Before you totally lose your psyche, this is the right time to paddle your way out from the suffocating cyberspace.
Social media hiatus is having a break from the virtual world to breathe some fresh air and detoxify. It could be weeks or several months depending on how long you want to detach yourself from virtual connections. After setting yourself free from that deteriorating addiction, what now? While uninstalling the social media apps is just a piece of cake, the real challenge here is how to maintain your detachment. Read on to know some tips that might help you successfully have your social media hiatus.
1. Social media detox keeps you sane.
Too much bad news on your news feed could be overwhelming most especially in this time of crisis. People having opposite views are having war in comment sections, Facebook being an obituary, publicity of personal problems, posting sensitive issues, and many other negative vibes that might drain your energy. If you think that all of these are distressing, it is time to unfollow or mute them and teleport to the real world so you could escape from dystopia.
2. Hiatus helps you discover new hobbies or talents.
After breaking up with your phone, you might think that you got nothing to do but to talk to your houseplants, read shampoo bottle labels, or count sheep. Well, that might be the case at first, but as soon as you run out of things to do, you will be forced to try new things that will keep you busy such as cycling, baking, painting, crocheting, playing a musical instrument, and cooking. Sometimes, we have the potential but there is no way we will discover it because of being too immersed in the virtual space. For you not to be tempted to shackle yourself again, keep yourself so busy and distracted from new hobbies that help you to be productive.
3. Insecurities brought by the ideal world hinder self-growth.
Trying to keep up with the achievements of people your age could harm yourself. By trying to be like what you are seeing on social media, there could be a possibility that you are already being misaligned in what you want for yourself. Why don’t you put your phone down, reflect on what are the things you want to achieve, and convince yourself that it is okay to be delayed sometimes because we have our own pace. You do not always have to dream big to say that you are successful. What we really need is to dream deep.
4. Reconnecting to your family and friends is important.
Sometimes, we do not know what we are already missing because we do not have our time anymore to face them. Probably, some of you are still on your phones while at the dining table and remain absentminded on what is up in a family conversation. Also, have you noticed that you and your friends would meet only to bow down on your mobile phones altogether? It is something that you might want to observe and realize how this flip side of social media, ironically, disconnects people instead of reconnecting them.
5. Stepping out from the virtual world helps you focus on your well-being.
Once you managed to survive without spending too much time on social media or not using them at all, you will have more time to prioritize your well-being. There will be extra time to spend on workouts, more chance to introspect on your mental and emotional state, and completely forget about the things you were insecure about. It is not yet late to free yourself from the chains that bind you. If you cannot completely take it away from your system, you may put a time limit on your applications. Enough is enough. You put a timer not to disregard it but to discipline yourself.
6. There is more to life than social media.
Your life must not revolve around cyberspace because it is too far from reality. Do not be afraid to be left out from the trends because it won’t make you less as a person. You do not always have to fit in. Be someone who stands out while everyone is too busy to blend in. Do not let society dictates what you should be and do not be carried away on what was believed to be ideal. Try talking to people personally and be involved in worthwhile conversations that will give you a fresh view of reality.
7. Too much use of social media hinders our productivity.
This time, we are not talking about comparison games and insecurities anymore. It is now about how we are wasting too much time on soc med and forgetting the things that we should do such as schoolwork, overdue tasks, and trying out and exploring new things. The addiction holds us back from the things that could make us become better versions of ourselves. Look back and see how many opportunities you’ve lost for being too busy scrolling to your feed.
MORE ARTICLES: Why Being Single Is Awesome
8. It finally gives you a chance to attend to things that are still pending.
Look around you and identify the things that you need to settle. Could that be your pet that needs to take a bath? Clean clothes that have been sitting at the corner for days? Mugs and cups in your room? Disorganized closet? Dusty windowsill? Move your eyes around and figure out what you still need to attend to. Challenge yourself to accomplish all the things you need to do first before holding your phone again.
***
Are you convinced? Now, grab your phone and watch those applications wiggle until they totally vanish. May it be an intentional or impulsive action, you should not feel guilty about it because it is for your own sake.
Do not be afraid to be left out because, in return, we will be able to finally have our self-growth and peace of mind when we take a break from social media.
Of course, letting social media go might also mean losing virtual connections with friends and other people but if something comes up that is important, there will always be a means to reach you out.
Give it a try and realize how peace and productivity are more addicting than watching everyone else living an unrealistic lifestyle.