A digital and social media detox is just as necessary as a full body detox. Social media addiction is a real thing, and can have a significant negative impact on the quality of your life.
Ask yourself when last it was that you went a full day, from wake to sleep, without checking social media. If sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram disappeared tomorrow, would you feel empty and depressed? Has social media become an addiction for you?
Technology improves our lives in many ways, and social media can be a good thing. But too much of anything can be harmful.
Benefits Of Performing A Social Media Detox
Self-Esteem Boost: People selectively post what they want others to see. And this allows everyone to flaunt their good sides while hiding their bad ones. The more social media we use, the more we compare ourselves to the polished and perfect fake reality lives of everyone else we follow.
All this comparison leads to serious self-esteem issues and can lead to depression for some people. Taking a break from social media gives you a chance to focus on and remember all the wonderful things in your own life.
Privacy Protection: It is possible to find out about you simply through your social media history. This leaves you vulnerable to stalkers, hackers or just anyone who is out to attack you in general. Cleaning up your social media history or even deleting your apps and social media accounts is the only way to protect your privacy.
It Saves Time: Except it is for your work purposes, checking your social media may only take a few minutes. But if you check several times an hour, that can add up to a lot of wasted time.
You could do with more hours of free time a day to work on a creative hobby. Or do something you’ve been pushing because you don’t have enough time.
Better Social Skills: Digital interactions and social media make it easier for those who struggle with real-life social interactions to connect virtually. Getting offline and venturing out into the real world will boost your mood, and give you some much-needed human contact.
So how can you perform a detox?
Deactivate your accounts.
Uninstall social media apps and notification pathways.
Block social media sites using a web filtering tool (for your laptops and tabs).
Replace social media with other activities to fill the void.
