Although social media is responsible for hundreds of positive faith-restoring acts, such as reuniting friends or family or finding lost people, there’s also a darker side.
Unfortunately, social media is very often associated with increased stress and anxiety. People who use social media excessively can not only start to experience mental health issues, but also find that productivity levels drop, and procrastination starts to take over.
If you’ve noticed any of the following, it may be time for you to take a break from social media:
- You find yourself mindlessly scrolling apps.
- You are constantly comparing yourself to others.
- You feel insecure and experience low self-esteem.
- You feel annoyed by the things or people you see online.
- You feel isolated from real life.
- Your self-worth seems to depend on the number of “likes” you get.
5 Ways to Unplug from Social Media:
Removing yourself from your socials and taking a little break can dramatically increase your mood and improve your mental wellbeing. Even spending just one week away from social media could significantly reduce your stress levels, anxiety, and depression, according to researchers.
Unplugging from social media doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Some choose to scale back their usage, while others may prefer to simply unplug completely every now and then.
Here are our tips on how to unplug from social media.
1 Ditch the FOMO
FOMO or the ‘fear of missing out’, is one of the primary factors responsible for causing stress and anxiety among social media users. It’s so easy to forget that social media isn’t real. Seeing other people sharing amazing moments from their lives can make you feel that your life is inferior, however, it’s important to remember that social media is essentially just one big highlight reel. What you see is often a highly curated collection of well edited photos with well thought out captions. Don’t waste your precious mental energy on fearing that you’re missing out, instead ditch the FOMO and remind yourself that social media is very rarely candid and ‘real’.
2 Set yourself daily limits
A simple way to scale back your social media use is to set your daily limits. Thankfully, there are apps that can help you to track your social media usage, plus many phones now come with this feature already as part of their software collection. Set yourself a timer for using social media each day. Allow yourself 15 – 30 minutes at a time to scroll social media and ensure that you schedule these social media breaks mindfully. Avoid waking up and immediately reaching for your phone, and also make sure to avoid scrolling social media before bed.
3 Remove your social media apps
If you’re finding it difficult to stay away from social media, it may be beneficial to remove the apps from your phone. Try removing the app shortcuts from your home screen first. By doing so, you’re making it harder for yourself to access social media as the apps are no longer waiting for you whenever you pick up your phone. If that isn’t enough, it might be time to completely remove the apps from your phone for a little while. Don’t worry, you can always reinstall them!
4 Turn off your push notifications
A simple way to reduce temptation is to silence the call of social media. To do this, turn off the push notifications on your chat and social media apps. Something as small and as easy as this can make a huge difference.
5 Fill your time with something more productive
What do you do now that you’re unplugged from social media? Well, it’s time to take a little control back and fill the time you’d otherwise spend scrolling with something more productive. Consider learning something new with micro learning, practising your favourite hobby, or simply using the 15 – 30 minutes you’d usually scroll to read a new book.
Good Luck with Your Social Media Detoxing!
If you feel the need to take a break from social media, these tips will help you cut down on your usage. Whether you plan to consistently take a break every couple of months or so, or you feel that you need to indefinitely cut down your social media usage, know that by doing so, you will be making the step towards improving your mental wellbeing.