Does Staying Off Social Media Make You Happier
This is another common question from people who are considering leaving social media.
The answer here is like pretty much everything important in life: It depends.
In yet another study Ive read about quitting social media I found that responders faced many problems during a brief hiatus from the said networks.
They felt bad about not being able to connect with their loved ones, difficulty dealing with boredom, and also dull because their usual entertainment channel was missing.
Why is that?
Shouldnt it be the other way around? We are here talking about staying away from social media after all?
Correct.
But I fully get why the participants in the study didnt find any positive effects when abstaining from the evil platforms.
If youre using social media with the sole purpose to have fun, and this is no longer an option. Im sure youll be pissed. Its like throwing away your TV if youre hooked to a particular show.
Plainly, you cant find joy in not using social media if you dont internally believe that you dont need it.
After all, if you ask a smoker who doesnt think that smoking is bad to quit for a day he wont find any joy in this. He will resent you.
People are mostly using social media to escape their current reality. A place they turn to when the real world is simply making them feel blah.
When you use social media for these reasons, you will never see the benefits.
How Does Quitting Social Media Actually Help Your Mental Health
Its common knowledge that too much time on social media isnt great for our brains.
Social media can also be a fantastic tool for keeping people connected, learning new things and creating spaces for creativity and free expression but it also has a dark side.
Plenty of research shows that it can have a detrimental impact on your self-esteem and confidence, it can also make negative news events feel unavoidable, and perpetuate a pretty toxic picture of humanity with trolling, online arguments and abuse rife across all platforms.
No doubt you will have seen plenty of people proclaiming that they are taking a break from social media, deleting their accounts, or going on a digital detox. Taking time away from social media and disconnecting from our devices can feel like a breath of fresh air but is completely stepping away from social media the only solution?
Shareen Kullar, founder of self-care box Blissbox, says that when social media starts to consume hours of our time and energy, stepping away could be incredibly beneficial for our mental health.
Revive Your Mental Energy And Be Productive
If you have thought of clearing your mind, the best idea is social media detox. We are so much busy in this virtual world that we forget everything and everyone else in our lives.
Instagram updates, profiles, likes, dislikes, reviews, caption, taglines, posts, and much more has just clogged our brains, and we forget the real world and real us. Can you believe how much of our productive time we are wasting on it?
Suppose this much amount of energy we put on something else that is really beneficial to us will make us far better citizens. For instance, prioritize the important things in your life first, go on for gyms, and yoga, which will improve your inner health and bring positivity by clearing all that junk caused by social media in your life. It will help you to become productive in your personal and professional life.
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Keep Your Interests Secret On Social Media
Social media detox gives you back control of your digital habits. , , WhatsApp, , and all other social media apps, likes, comments all have caused addiction and distracted you from the real world.
From posting something new to updating status and uploading pictures every time you go out ends up scrolling up and down the screen just to see how many likes and comments you got leads to temporary happiness and satisfaction, but can you imagine how it can affect your mind if some or the other day you didnt receive any likes or comments?
They collect data about user behaviors, interests, likes, and dislikes, etc. to serve you personalized ads and content of your choice to make money.
These social media and apps are just to gain promotion and incentives by maximizing the number of users they get. What are you getting from it? It is just their way of making money. You are wasting your time and affecting your health by making them earn.
We are concluding, social media is becoming a hindrance in your personal space and quality time you spend with your loved ones. Therefore, it is necessary to take a social media break and opt for social media detox.
Track your screen time, spend time with real people, and do your business to make money. Dont work for free for these social media, instead start a blog and and affiliate marketing.
Why Taking A Break From Social Media Can Be Good For Your Health
How much time do you spend on social media?
Whether its checking your Facebook feed or scrolling through Instagram, theres no shortage of stuff to look at, and it can be easy to lose track of time. Before you know it, 10 minutes of your day or sometimes way more minutes than you care to admit are lost forever, thanks to social media.
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Toxic People May Give Up Trying To Poison Your Life
Before social media really took off, people communicated with friends and families via email, texts, and phone calls.
Now, most people use their online platforms to communicate with others en masse, rather than individually.
When you quit social media, youre basically out of the loop.
If you step away from these platforms, its unlikely that most people you communicate with on a daily basis will go out of their way to keep you informed of everything thats going on.
After all, its easy to publish a post and reply to comments, because theyre all in one space and can be dealt with in one go.
This can be a huge benefit to your overall health and well-being.
If youre trying to distance yourself from toxic people, a break from social media might free yourself from them for a while.
After all, taking the extra time to keep you engaged in their drama might be too inconvenient for them, so itll be easier to just leave you alone.
This works particularly well with narcissists, as they will go after easier targets to get their fill of attention and adoration!
Just dont announce to them that youre quitting, as theyll either take it personally, or consider it a challenge to keep you around/engaged with their personal issues.
You Finally Face Your Problems
In the book Ready Player One. The OASIS the virtual world described by Ernest Cline serves as an escape from reality.
In the book, real life is hard. Ugly. Almost destroyed. Thats why, The OASIS is such a visited place. More popular than the real world.
Inside this meta-universe, there are no rules. You can be whoever you want to be. Its literally an oasis. A place that relieves you from the harsh and monotonous desert called life.
Does this remind you of something?
Arent we all entering the current popular social media channels to do the same i.e., escape our current problems?
I think so.
We never log out of Facebook and Instagram because we follow the mantra, The best way to solve my problems is to avoid them.
The truth is, that this leads to a compounding effect but on the one leading to net positives. The more you avoid your problems, the bigger they become.
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What Are The Benefits Of A Break From Social Media
Breaking from social media is a remedy for so many problems. But, as I noted, social media can cause addiction that would otherwise cause many problems, including mental health issues and depression. It also consumes so much time and productivity and can make you feel inadequate, especially when you compare yourself with your peers.
It is beneficial to have a social media break and social media detox if you are to continue living a healthy and productive life. However, even a 30-day break can yield some positive results.
Some of the many benefits of a break from social media include the following:
What Are The Benefits Of Camping In Luxury Yet Affordable Rentals In Nature
So, what are the benefits of of camping in luxury rentals in nature when it comes to staying off social media. Glamping is all about being outdoors in a natural setting. With thousands of secluded accommodations in naturewithout having to sacrifice any amenitiesthe last thing youll want to do is go online. Here are some benefits of glamping and why its ideal for a digital detox.
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The Benefits Of Taking A Break From Social Media
Taking time off of social media, he adds, means freeing up your time for other activities that are good for both brain and body:
You Might Need A Social Media Cleanse Too
Jut about anyone can absolutely benefit from taking a social media break. It all comes down to whether your time on social media is making you feel more connected or, well, less.
Seeing others curated, polished images of only happy moments or attractive photos can set up an unrealistic expectation of ourselves and the destructive experience of constantly comparing oneself with others, Christine Moutier, M.D., practicing psychiatrist and chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention , previously told SELF.
She explained that we might find ourselves feeling more disconnected and isolated when we’re overusing social media. This is especially true if youre already dealing with self-esteem, anxiety, or depression . So if youre feeling any of those feelings, it could be time to take a break.
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Being Off Social Media Made Me Experience Lower Amounts Of Fomo And An Overall Higher Level Of Satisfaction And Happiness With My Own Life
As a parent of an unvaccinated toddler in the midst of a pandemic, I found that we were traveling less than the people on my social media feed appeared to be doing. I would constantly compare my own life with that of others who seemed to be having so many more travel experiences, and, of course, end up being less than happy about my own. After all, research suggests that social comparison is one of the primary causes of dissatisfaction in people’s lives.
Youll Start Connecting With The Real World
Connecting with someone through social media is good but nothing can beat the potential of a real in-person conversation. Even if youre an introvert, youll still need some human interaction. Taking a break from social media will give you an opportunity to interact with real-time incidents. True connections can only be made through a persons physical presence. Meeting people in person will also improve your social skills which is an important factor in life.
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How Much Social Media Time Is Healthy
According to studies by clinical psychology experts, spending less time on social media can lead to positive impacts and better mental health. That enhances the overall well-being and comes with life-changing benefits. The recommended time to keep to social media, therefore, should be less than 30 minutes daily.
Benefits Of Staying Off Social Media
Social media can be overwhelming at times. People who spend the majority of their time on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter frequently experience anxiety and stress. What happens if you stay away from it? Lets know about some Benefits of staying off social media.
It has definitely helped us to connect with each other in ways we never imagined but, oddly, it has also made us far more antisocial. We have no idea how much time we spend on social media and how much we let it affect us.
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Youll Get More Work Done And Youll Do It Faster
When you dont have to worry about your devices buzzing left and right, you could find your productivity levels shooting through the roof. The thing about social media is that it constantly interrupts us, says Joanne Cantor, PhD, professor emerita of communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of the book Conquer CyberOverload. When we stop ourselves to check social media, again and again, it really becomes another form of multitasking, and multitasking makes whatever you do take longer, and you do it in an inferior way. In fact, the American Psychological Association estimates that trying to juggle multiple tasks at oncesuch as clicking back and forth between Facebook and an important projectmay reduce your productive time by as much as 40 percent. Thats a high price to pay for a few likes and comments.
Delete Or Disable Social Media Apps
This step is the most important in this process. It is very necessary to delete the social media apps and block the websites on your phone.
I would personally say that deleting is only the best option to detoxify. If you think that without deleting it will work, then the answer is a big NO because it would crave you towards your phone and will hamper the process of social media detox. So, you will have to delete it completely.
If you still cant do it, then the best idea is not to use your smartphone till that period and give it to someone trustworthy, and you can take it back after the process is over.
Deleting the apps will help you to focus on other things you want to do or achieve in your life. It will also help you to find the Real You and will help in curing your mental health issues like stress, depression, anxiety, etc.
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Benefits Of Staying Off Social Media For Your Mental Health
by Mental Health Rehabs Editorial Team | Mar 25, 2022 | Depression |
The digital age makes it easier than ever to stay connected and keep in touch with one anotherbut thats not always a good thing. Even before the pandemic turned the world upside down, America has been in what health professionals have deemed a mental health crisis. In 2019, nearly one-fifth of American adults experienced mental illness with a growing number of American youth. One of the leading causes is social media. Heavy social media use has been shown to cause a number of adverse psychological and cognitive effects. While it may be tempting to see what friends are up to, the benefits of staying off social media will make you want to stop scrolling immediately.
Surprising Benefits Of Staying Off Social Media
Dont forget to like. Subscribe. Share. Hit no! smash that bell icon. Of course, follow me on all of my social media accounts so I can tell you how my life is better than yours. These days, no one wants you your physical company. People are aiming towards your attention and your credit card.
If you are here reading, you probably acknowledge the huge amount of time you spend each day inside the soul-sucking algorithmic online playground that now represents a large part of our overall existence.
And though you realize your dependence on social media, you still cant quit.
I get it.
Letting go of something that consumes a good part of your life is a tough nut to crack.
Worry not!
In this post. Im combining my personal experience with scientific research and adding a flavor of fictional characters from a famous book to help you break from your social media addiction.
The goal?
Carve out me time and find something worthy to do. An activity, that will help you reconnect with the curious, adventurous, creative, and brave side of your identity. A task that will serve as a source of sanity and an escape from the fractured anxiety caused by mindless scrolling.
And before you say it, let me interrupt you I know!
There are quite a few articles explaining the benefits of staying off social media or such that talk about digital detox.
Apart from what everyone else is sharing, though. I believe that most publications miss an important point.
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The Emotional Side Effects And Benefits Of Quitting Social Media
Benefits of quitting social media
Psychotherapist Mary Jo Rapini shares some of the benefits of quitting social media.
If you post pictures on social media, you recognize the dopamine rush you receive when others “like” or comment on your post. While some may deny the existence of this phenomenon, research concludes otherwise, indicating most individuals react with excitement. According to a Pew Research Center survey, this rush in dopamine is one reason 70% of Americans utilized social media last year. This number has remained consistently high over a five-year period even while headline news was abuzz with stories detailing the negative effects of Facebook on teens mental health and the correlation of negative body image among young girls using Instagram.
Social media algorithms are designed to keep you coming back, and choosing to quit creates a difficult withdrawal process. This constitutes one of the primary reasons individuals do not quit, despite its contribution to negative body image, insomnia, elevated anxiety, and decreased productivity. Most of us dont even recognize how addicted weve become until we attempt to stop using our social media platforms.