Gone are the days when people used letters and postcards to keep in touch with families and friends (but isn’t that sweet?). Now, everything and everyone is just a tap of a button away. 

We all know how powerful and useful social media is in our daily lives nowadays. It’s a tool that you can use to listen to and engage with people that you’re unable to reach or connect with in person.

Many people are able to talk with their friends and relatives even when they’re miles away from each other. Jobs are becoming more convenient, and meetings are becoming easier.

For businesses, social media platforms are used as an idea generator, a trend mapper, and a strategic compass, as well as for tapping potential consumers.

However, the social media landscape changes incredibly fast, so you have to be open-minded and nimble to keep up with it. You cannot control everything that you see on it, but you can control how you can react to it.

Fake news, bullying, unhealthy debates, and unrealistic expectations are some factors you will encounter on social media platforms. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay away from social media forever. You just need a social media detox.

Social media detox? That can be hard to do. Especially if you’re the type of person who made social media an essential part of their life — may it be for entertainment, communication, or career purposes.

Don’t worry, you’re not the only one struggling to keep their fingers off from scrolling and posting. Here are eight more reasons why you need a social media detox:

1. Protecting your privacy

Privacy is power. What people don’t know, they can’t ruin.

It’s easy to post and express how you feel on social media. However, think a hundred times before posting that caption, picture, or video. You cannot control how people think and react. So be ready for some positive or negative feedback.

Just make sure to avoid posting personal information like your recent location, address, email address, and phone number. Unless you’re selling a product or service. Many people are good with technology. They can easily hack your personal information and use it for their own interest.

You don’t need to post everything on social media. Doing this will keep you away from stalkers, hackers, and bad people.

2. You’ll stop comparing yourself to others

As mentioned earlier, sometimes, social media contains unrealistic expectations. 

You may see that perfect couple who keep on exchanging sweet photos and comments with each other, which makes you question your relationship with your partner. But in reality, they may not be THAT happy.

You see a parent sharing how seemingly perfect their kid is, making you question your parenthood. But in reality, no kid is perfect–nobody is..

You see a person living a luxurious life that makes you compare your success and skill set. But in reality, that person lacks something that you probably have.

Frequently detoxing from social media will help you stay away from these so you can appreciate your own achievements and learn how to love yourself more.

3. You won’t fear missing out

Social media says that rhinoplasty is in these days.

Social media shows that gentle parenting is better than old-style parenting.

Social media encourages you to buy the latest gadget, or else you’ll miss out.

Social media tells us a lot of things which can affect our principles and beliefs. And if you feel that you’re questioning yourself because of what you see on social media, it’s time to pause for a while. You know yourself better, and your instincts matter most.

Social media detoxing will help you escape from impulsive buying and decisions that you may regret later on.

4. Prevents from destroying your mood

You woke up feeling happy and energized. Then suddenly you decided to scroll through social media and saw one content that eventually ruined your mood. Sad, but true. And pretty sure it  happened to you a couple of times already.

Giving yourself a social media detox will give you happier days ahead, so you can focus more on important things. This will also ward you off from depression, anxiety, and chronic stress.

5. Stop you from clinging to the past

Certain social media platforms have this feature called “memories”, which will show you events that you or your friends posted in the past.

If you have not-so-good memories with a certain person or group of people and you suddenly saw that on your social media feed, some ill feelings may kick in. And this can affect not just your emotional health, but also your physical and mental health. It’s like you’re trying your best to move on, but social media gets in the way.

If you have unpleasant experiences, or you’re trying to move on, or simply just want to get rid of toxicity, social media detoxing will greatly help.

6. Gain you more free time

Time flies fast when you’re scrolling through social media. A 5-minute browsing can turn into an hour, especially if you’re really entertained. However, you can be more productive within that one hour.

You can actually finish some of your tasks, or do some decluttering, or even just take a good rest. You’ll be surprised at how much time you can save when you do a social media detox.

7. Reconnect with the real world

When you’re too engaged in social media, it’s really difficult to connect with the real world. You’re too focused on connecting to people across various social media platforms, creating different accounts just to reach new networks, when in fact, genuine connections and relationships can be found more in the real world.

There’s nothing wrong with connecting on social media. Just make sure to not rely on it too much. Rather, explore more on the outside world.

8. Treasure your loved ones more

Sadly, relationships and communication between family and friends are less prioritized when social media gets in the way.

Before, we get to visit our friends and relatives, and greet them “Happy Birthday” or “Merry Christmas” in person. But now, since there’s social media, we just message them or post the greetings on their profile. Yes, this is more convenient than traveling. However, it’s more heartfelt for anyone if you greet them in person.

When you’re too focused on social media, you’re taking seconds, minutes, and hours away from spending time with your family. Instead of sharing stories with your partner or asking your kids about how their day went, you’re busy scrolling through your feed.

If you have kids, they might follow your behavior. Rather than having an open conversation with you, they might spend most of their time on social media, too.

TAKEAWAYS

Doing social media detox will help you treasure and appreciate your loved ones more. It will also allow you to see the bigger picture in the real world, be more productive, and live a more fulfilling life.

Lead by example and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Who knows? You might change someone’s life by giving them these tips.

Related Blogs:

• A Straightforward Guide to Self-Improvement That Will Change Your Life
• 12 Habits of People Who Have Proper Work-Life Balance
• 8 Small Ways to Make Big Changes In Your Life In 2023
• A 30-Day Challenge to Improve & Protect Your Mental Health
• What Social Anxiety Looks Like and How to Solve It

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