These days people are all about detoxing. However, it’s usually centered around food. This fasting technique, that keto diet, this green juice, that vegan diet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about a good cleanse. That being said, our health involves more than just physical self-care. Without realizing it, our mental health is constantly under stress from social media. Human interaction is quickly becoming less relevant, and realities online are no longer portrayed as being real. As they say, sometimes you really do need to disconnect in order to connect.
I, myself, have enjoyed a few social media detox’s in my life. Some have lasted a week, where others have lasted months. As with any cleanse, it should be altered to fit your own lifestyle. At the moment, I’m on the opposite of a social media detox. I am present on nearly every platform of social media possible as I continue living abroad. For me, social media is a great way to connect with my loved ones from home, and promote my blog. That being said, I am also absolutely addicted to it {and for all the wrong reasons}.
I am thinking about doing another social media detox in the near future. Therefore, I wanted to remind myself {and you} of the benefits I received from doing them in the past. Without further ado, here are 7 reasons to take a social media detox:
1. To better your health
Let’s start with the most important reason of all. Staring at a screen for hours is simply unhealthy. There have been multiple studies that prove this to be true, and I believe we will only find out more long term consequences once they actually begin occurring within our generation. Regardless, some of the short term consequences include short-sightedness, sleep deprivation, and obesity {source}. According to an article in Forbes,
Even some of the developers of these products have admitted guilt about their creations, and confessed that they don’t even let their kids use them.
Even I am victim to short term consequences when I stare at my screens too long. Headaches are common, my eyesight becomes blurry or off-balance, and different parts of my body begin to “fall asleep” due to staying in one position too long. I’m absolutely terrified to imagine the amount of carpel tunnel cases our generation will inevitably be diagnosed with. Overall, it can be concluded that less screen time can benefit all of us.
2. To be present in the moment
I absolutely hate when people use their phones on coffee dates, at dinner, or during any other kind of human interaction. I must say, I am pretty good at putting my phone away and living in the moment with my friends and family – but I’m not perfect. In the same sense, we tend to live through our screen at some of the most inappropriate times – concerts for example.
Literally, no one {and I mean no one} wants to watch the shaky footage you took at a concert on Snapchat. A majority of the people in attendance end up watching the entire concert through their phones anyway. If you are going to do that, you may as well just save your money and look it up on YouTube afterwards. I can guarantee there will be multiple people posting it over social platforms – look around.
Living in the moment is so important, but it is something I occasionally struggle with when I travel. One of my passions is photography, so my eye is normally glued to my camera lens when I travel. I still have to make the conscious effort to put everything away, and just experience something for what it is in its raw form. After all, sometimes the camera will never do it justice – and then what? I love that images bring us back to moments in time, but if you aren’t enjoying those moments when they are happening, there isn’t much to be reminded of. Anyone can take a photo of something, but only you can live in that moment.
3. Because Instagram {does not} = LIFE
Contrary to popular belief, Instagram rarely portrays the realities of life. I’m absolutely guilty of this. We post our best photos, in the best lighting, exclaiming we are living our best lives. But the truth is, life is flawed. Sure, we all have moments of pure bliss and happiness, but more often than not, it’s messy. A single photo will never be able to provide the essence of anyone’s entire life.
If you knew the reality behind getting half of my shots on Instagram, you would be less inclined to believe I have it all together. Nothing screams glamorous like a GoPro on a selfie stick, being held up by my own DIY rock formation, while I fake laugh like I’m not completely alone, gazing at a mediocre cup of coffee like it’s made of gold, am I right? Most of the images portrayed on Instagram, are in no way a “reality”. They are perfectly curated with the help of tripods, Instagram husbands, or even professional photographers. And there are usually hundreds of takes that didn’t make the cut.
4. Comparison is the thief of joy
Piggy backing from my last point, social media is the worst when it comes to making comparisons. We see the perfectly curated shot on Instagram, and immediately compare our lives to it. WHYYYYY THO? I think our brains are capable enough at this point to understand most of the candid shots on Instagram are in no way candid. We can imagine the ‘not-so-magical’ efforts that stand behind the camera. And yet, we ask ourselves why we don’t have the shiny hair, the trendy outfits, the gorgeous model husbands, the laid back lifestyle, and the perfect body to go with it. Some of the most ‘have-it-all-together’ people that are ‘killing it’ on social media, are struggling with things they will never share on their platform.
When you eliminate social media from your life, it can feel refreshing. That whole out of sight, out of mind thing works wonders. Suddenly, you won’t feel as though you are missing out on, well, anything. Without Instagram, and it’s over-saturated feed of filters, Facetune, and Photoshop, there isn’t much to compare your life to. It’s liberating once you have no one to impress. The struggle with comparison quickly goes out the window, simply because you only have your own life to focus on. Life becomes solely about living – instead of proving to the world that you are.
5. You’ll see an increase in productivity
Anytime I have done a social media detox, I suddenly find hours of my day freed up. I’ll literally be sitting there questioning myself like, ‘mmm…what now?’. Normally in these moments, I grab my phone and refresh Instagram. However, when I’m on a cleanse I am forced to find other activities to partake in. Therefore, I will work on the blog, read, go for a walk, workout, or clean my apartment in order to pass the time.
I find myself so much more productive, simply because I have more time on my hands than before. This might seem extremely obvious, but it can be truly scary to discover how much time we spend on our phones once we actually remove them from our lives.
6. To remind yourself of what matters
The culture of social media has shifted in the last couple of years. It has quickly become a successful platform for brands to market themselves and sell their products. The amount of beauty products I’ve purchased because of YouTube Make-up Guru’s is embarrassing. If I see another celebrity promoting tea, waist trainers, or magic hair gummy bears, I may throw my phone off the next cliff I climb. We all know material things simply don’t matter at the end of the day, but it’s easy to get wrapped up into all of it with social media.
Taking a break from your phone will give you time to remember what really matters in life. Take a moment and think about how you would feel if suddenly Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat all shut down, never to return. How would it change your life? Would you feel a sense of emptiness? I know I would. And that’s shameful to admit. Detoxing from social media allows you to reconnect with people and places that bring you real joy – and not the kind from scrolling on Facebook. It’s hard to remember a time before all of these platforms existed. But they did – and the world kept spinning.
7. To prove you can
If anything, take a break from social media just to prove to yourself you can. Social media is quickly becoming an addiction for most people. If you’re sitting there shaking your head right now {‘I don’t have an addiction to Instagram’}, denial is always the first step #jussayin. Therefore, go ahead. Put down your phone and give it a go.
I hope this list has convinced you to attempt a detox from social media. Even if it’s only for a few days, I promise you’ll notice a difference. Once you return from your detox, you’ll realize how unnecessary social media really is to our daily life. Of course, in a world full of ‘Social Media Influencers’, many people these days rely on social media for their jobs. Even so, we all need a break – especially from our jobs.
Have you ever embarked on a social media detox? What were your results?
