Whenever we sit for studying, we immediately expect for a break. So, why not do the same with social media. According to a statistics, 40 to 50% of the world population uses social media. Some more,some less. For some the first thing that they do in the morning and the last thing that they do at the night is checking their social media for direct messages or likes or follows etc. But sometimes we forget that there is so much more to life than just dwelling around it. We amuse ourselves and the same time, disappoint ourselves as well.
We cannot just judge ourselves on the basis of the amount of usage of a few applications in our lives and that how qualitative person you are based on the response through it. The amount of mental energy we put on our phones, can be used for much better causes. For some social media has been everything to them since the day they started using it. They might have probably gotten addicted to it. And now they cannot think their lives without it.
Ever thought, what would be your life like without checking your phones. Sometimes it is easier for you to know yourselves by just being alone or, with friends or, with family.It’s not only about this, also about the endless scrolling through a newsfeed for no reason which is a lot of time consuming.
Let us see some disadvantages of social media and then deicide, if you want to be away from it or not.
1. It decreases effective face to face communication which sometimes leads misunderstandings. You do not know what exactly the person is conveying through a written message on chats. So actually talking is a necessary factor for the same, which is reduced due to chat boxes these days.
2. It is automatically a lot of time consuming. Once you get used to using these applications such as facebook, twitter, instagram, etc., there is a certain urge to check them again and again. This can make you addicted to your phone and never leave it.
3. Now, when you use them again and again, the mobile screen puts strain on your eyes. It can lead to insomnia, again straining your eyes. This facilitates laziness and make you lethargic enough to not do anything and cause eye problems as well.
4. It’s a false reality. People post whatever they want other people to see and not what is actually being done.You might never know the real story of that side. It’s all filter and sterilized. When you see people living a life that you’re not, it can lead you to fall into despair. To avoid that, you can keep taking a break and accept your reality as it is.
5. There are some are common health problems that are caused due to over usage of social media such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc. Lot of reasons cause such problems and you might not even know you’re going through it, until you realize it someday.
Ways of Social Media Detoxification
Now, when you know that somehow you are addicted to your phone and social media apps, you need to get rid of them. You need to understand what life feels like without them. This doesn’t have to be forever but just until you break yourself out of the dopamine cycle. Do this step by step, else it might make you more addicted.
1.The first step towards this, is that you need to understand why do you need a break from social media and for how long. It depends upon your current mental health and ability, which decides the amount of time you should be away from all of this. It could be for a week or a month or few months or a year. Try to start with the short time and after that period, decide to continue or discontinue. It is not always depression that makes you stay away from social media. It can be for many other reasons or even your own choice, for that matter.
2. Identify which apps you use the most. Slowly and gradually, shorten the amount of time you spend on them. You might as well put a screen time on those specific apps. Directly closing or removing the apps, will not help getting you rid of it. After slowly shortening the time, delete them one by one when you start knowing that they are not affecting you much.
3.Tell people whom you are in regular touch with that you are going to be away for a while. This way they won’t be worried and even if you come back, they’ll remind you of it. Rest, there are people who wouldn’t even notice this so, don’t think about them.
4.Replace social media with other activities which don’t require a phone except for calling your friends ,etc. Try finishing your work on time, read novels or whatever you like, start keeping a journal, draw or start conversing and meeting people in real life.
This is for sure that you’ll be a lot relieved when the anxiety of checking your phone again and again wouldn’t run through your head and this wouldn’t be the only thing your head is occupied with. It will make you happy and your mood very well.
