5 Reasons why you need to go on a Social media detox

The coined term ‘social media detox’ is just a fancy way of saying taking a break from social media. It entails taking a day, two days, weeks, or even months where you do not go on social media at all.

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People go on this detox from social media for a variety of reasons, but it is mostly done to declutter the mind. 

According to Statista in 2019 people spent on average 144 minutes a day on social media, compared to 90 minutes a day in 2012. Can you imagine how much this must have increased in the past two years due to the state of the world?

Well, according to Emarketer, this has increased by 23 minutes! This may not seem much, but it is actually an astounding increase in just a year. 

You have probably been unsure on whether you should or should not go on a social media hiatus. And if the numbers above have not inspired you to take the time off social media… Let’s further break down why you need to go on a social media detox: 

1. You have more time on your hands. 

Social media has become our number 1 source of entertainment. We wake up and straight away go on our phones, and at various times throughout the day. We spend so much of our day just randomly scrolling through social media for any sort of distractions, that sometimes we don’t notice the time spent scrolling mindlessly.

If you have Tik Tok, I am sure that you have distracted yourself for over 20 minutes, just scrolling for the next fun and entertaining tik tok… But that’s the thing, you will always be looking for the next big thing to entertain you in all these social media apps. So why not use that time to explore other ways to spend your time?

And you might be thinking, “but I already do so much during my downtime” or even “this is easier said than done”. I want you to know, I understand the reluctance.

So much of our daily lives are attached to our phones. Especially during the current times… But if you are here, still reading this, then you must already be feeling fed up or overstimulated from spending so much time online.

2. You can learn something new. 

You might be thinking, ‘but I’ve learned so much from social media.’ But how much of what you have learned, have you actually tried implementing into your day-to-day life? Such as recipes, DIYs, and other cute hacks. 

I always suggest learning something that you can physically do without apps. Such as making jewelry,  cooking with physical recipe books, drawing, or even painting. But this isn’t for everyone, so if you feel like you want to learn something through apps, that is also okay.

There are many educational apps out there that I absolutely love. But if you are here reading this, then maybe you can’t help but be distracted by the social apps and consequentially you ignore the educational apps.

My favorite educational app at the moment is Skillshare. A pretty diverse app centering more on creativity and entrepreneurship. I’m currently in, ‘Writing & Blogging with Passion: Create a Flexible Editorial Plan & Calendar ‘ with Theresa Christine, and it has really helped me in planning my blogging content.

However, in these circumstances what helps is keeping yourself accountable, and being realistic. It is easier to stay away from social media apps or your phone, if you are keeping yourself busy with something you are genuily interested in. And doing something that you genuinely enjoy.

There is no point forcing yourself away from social media to learn something new, if it isn’t something you feel you will enjoy.

3. Finally read that book you’ve put on hold. 

Social media for a lot of us has become something we indulge in during our free time. Something that we are so used to getting our dopamine kick from. But why not use that time instead to read a book? If you find it hard to read physical copies audiobooks are another amazing way to get into books! 

I recommend audiobooksnow, because you can get 50% off your first audiobook.

4. Nurture yourself

Social media can sometimes be so overwhelming with the abundance of news, views, gossip, and opinions of everything that is happening around the world. That it can really affect your mental and physical health.

You can also be so immersed in the echo-chamber, that you forget that it is also good to nurture your own views and to take time off for yourself. Nurturing your own views and educating yourself on causes close to your heart, helps you to avoid forgetting to fight for causes when others stop speaking about them. 

5. Work on self-confidence

With social media now being a place where most of us go for fashion, home, and makeup inspiration. It can be easy for us to compare our lifestyles with others.

Social media apps like Instagram can be detrimental for our mental wellbeing when it makes you feel inadequate due to comparisons, that we consciously or subconsciously make.

Sometimes this social media effect is not outrightly obvious, but it can creep up on you in other ways. For example, suddenly wanting to look change something particular about you. But it being a drastic change. Or even feeling that your skin isnt as smooth as the influencers who pop up in you feed.

But Instagram is not real life. Everything is perfectly curated for others to perceive an instagram feed a certain way. Most influencers edit their photos, and very carefully plan where they are taking their images. And there is nothing wrong withthat.

However, it is always good to take a step back, and be more present to work on ourselves.

If the reasons above have still not convinced you to take the plunge and go on a period where you do not engage on social media. I’d say that just the fact that you have been contemplating it, is enough of a reason to do so. In this blog, we encourage our readers to listen to themselves and their intuition. Your intuition is pushing you to take time for yourself. To honor how you feel and take that time you need off socials. Even if it is just for a day or two, even a couple of hours.