Much of our daily activities are now dominated by social media, whether we’re idly scrolling Instagram, watching a YouTube video that appeared on our recommended list, or just getting the urge to check the most recent Facebook notifications. 

While social media has many advantages, such as networking opportunities, business opportunities, and the ability to communicate with friends and family right away, it can also become a bad precedent for your productivity and mental health.

Social media detox is basically the deliberate reduction of social media use and consumption. It aims to stop people from using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other apps excessively.

To avoid wasting our valuable time and worsening our health, a detox tour is necessary. Technology has greatly benefited us and given rise to platforms that enable better connections between all of us. But they are impacting our lives very differently from what they were expected to.

Why Social Media Detox is Required?

People are glued to their phones, whether at home or at work. The biggest distractions, whether during family time or work, are phones and laptop pop-up windows. Recent studies have demonstrated the damaging effects that social media addiction has on brain development.

Today, even when you are speaking to someone, your thoughts are occupied by notifications from Facebook, Instagram, etc. As opposed to the real world, people are growing more hooked on the social media sphere. There is no disagreement that social media has integrated deeply into our lives. Team productivity is being hindered, absenteeism is rising, and results are dropping.

Therefore, the only way out is through social media detox. Apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp can be distracting and can make one lose focus on work. It influences us to overlook and lose touch with real-life connections. It is good to take a break from social media. Using social media at the workplace can cause a distraction by reducing the attention span of workers. Social Media tends to exhibit a bitter picture of reality, making people feel inferior when they can’t measure up to it.

Here are a few of the main reasons why you should avoid social media:

1. Impact on mental health

Many researchers have found that social media use is associated with higher levels of sadness, anxiety, and loneliness. Social media addicts are twice as likely to suffer from depression than the ones who have limited their usage of social media networks.

According to research, both younger and older users are at risk of crumbling under the weight of unrealistic beauty and success standards that are frequently ingrained in social networks.

Social networks generate a habit of constantly being available to them and give reactions to the happenings on the feed quickly. However, this mentality causes unnecessarily high levels of stress, which harms our mental wellbeing.

Furthermore, despite the fact that these platforms are intended to increase our sense of connection to others, they actually have the opposite impact, making devoted users feel more alone and lonely.

2. Detrimental to relationships

Social networking platforms can worsen the quality of relationships in both direct and indirect ways. It is crucial for people to be aware that it can have negative effects on personal relationships on a level. We become more obsessed with sharing all the real-life happenings on social media rather than indulging in them. In their free time, people love scrolling rather than having real talks with friends and families. 

“Social media is immediate, in certain circumstances has the ability to reach millions of people at once, and it even has the power to influence behavior.”-   Nels Oscar, who performed research on how social networking websites reinforce stereotypes, warns that we frequently have no idea who might eventually read it or how it would influence them.

3. Encourage irresponsible behavior

Social media networks are made to entice us to get back to them for more, so we should be cautious about how much time we spend on them. We’ve gotten used to clicking without giving it any thought—almost as if on command. Instead of making progress toward your goals, you waste hours each week on social media. Imagine how much closer you could be to achieving your goals if social media wasn’t causing you to put them off. You might even succeed in achieving some of the most challenging objectives you have set for yourself this year!

4. Physical health is jeopardized

As we’ve already mentioned, having an excessively active social media presence can negatively impact both our physical and mental health, particularly by disrupting our sleep patterns.  The majority of the users face trouble sleeping.

Social media use stimulates emotional, cognitive, and/or physiological arousal, people feel obliged to access these websites at all times, especially in the late hours of the night. The fact that exposure to bright screens before bedtime has been related to sleep disruption. People indulged in social media are less involved in physical activities which leads to various adverse impacts on our health.

5. Productivity is hindered

Last, but certainly not least, our dedication to social media platforms can adversely affect our dedication to our own creative and professional lives in a variety of ways. We waste one of our most precious resources—time—on social media much more frequently than we realize. Even while we’re at work, we still feel the need to check out the latest “likes” and comments, even if we know we shouldn’t.

If you’ve ever contemplated doing a cleanse after going through the above-mentioned reasons, here are some of the advantages of avoiding social media:

1. Improves Self Confidence 

When you often see someone with a “perfect” figure, “beautiful” face, or “successful” life, you can’t help but compare yourself to them and begin to believe that you are always lacking. We are here to reaffirm that social media is not a reflection of reality and that you should start appreciating yourself for who you are rather than trying to emulate someone you saw online. A digital detox will free your mind from comparison and offer you more time to engage in activities that bring you joy.

2. You embrace the moments

Humans have a propensity to never give the present the attention it deserves and to constantly focus on the future. Even if there are countless incredible things that can occur to you every day, individuals still want more.

Perhaps we spend too much time worrying about other people’s lives rather than appreciating our own special moments. The next time something unusual occurs to you, resist the urge to broadcast it on social media and instead choose to simply be in the moment.

3. Subsides anxiety

People often compete for the most likes, views, and comments on social media as a way to demonstrate their success, attractiveness, likeability, or confidence.

This circumstance may cause uncontrollable posting, checking, and fretting. You can have the opportunity to unwind and end this destructive cycle by taking a vacation from your routine.

4. Reconnecting with others

Despite how absurd it may sound, taking a break from social media will encourage you to interact and be more social. Communication that takes place face-to-face is necessary for relationships to develop and endure. Although you might believe that social media facilitates friendship development and connection, you must never lose sight of the fact that quality time is the foundation of any successful relationship.

5. Increase your leisure time

How often have you wished you had more time to yourself? So, the time you spend on your phone shouldn’t be included because it doesn’t serve any purpose for you. You get more time to do more beneficial and productive activities. It will make you feel ten times better and fill you up!

It might be time for you to think about a social media detox if you’ve finished reading this blog entirely and can connect to at least some of the points made above. See how you feel after a few days, weeks, or even months without as many distractions by deleting your social media apps or adding a social media blocking widget to your browser. It’s time to switch off from social media and live life normally. The first few days won’t be easy, but once those are through, a whole new world will become accessible to you. 

Simply wait and see!