In recent times, I have been given the opportunity to take a break from social media. Okay, I will be honest, it was not an opportunity, it was forced upon me by my parents. Let me tell you it is hard to stay away from social media. Even companies like Computer World has pointed out that social media is designed to be as addictive as cocaine and you can feel withdrawal symptoms when first leaving. Despite being forced, I have learned a lot and can now view social media from a different perspective. Because of this, I created a list, a list of the five benefits of taking a social media detox.  

1. Cures your FOMO

FOMO (fear of missing out) by definition means “anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere without you, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.” This is something I struggle with a lot, as well as many people that I know. There is nothing worse than seeing your best friends together without you. Therefore, the only way to avoid this situation is to just leave social media as a whole.

2. Allows more time for productivity

You definitely do not realize how much of your time is put into social media or just your phone in general. When I cut this part out of my life, I gained so much free time. Free time used to work on school, clean my room or even to go see a friend and actually engage in a conversation. I found myself accomplishing twice as much as I ever would with a phone in my hands.

3. Breaks social comparison circle & no more competitiveness

One of the biggest things associated with social media is comparisons. Although some people are oblivious to it, social media is just an outlet to share all of the good things in your life. I mean think about it, you rarely see someone talking about the terrible day they had. You only see spring break pictures, or the photo shoot they had with their friends. When everyone is constantly searching for something to brag about to others, social media begins to become a competition. I never realized how stressful and toxic this can be towards oneself.

4. Allows you to live in the moment & reconnect with the world

This one is the hardest to admit, but it is very true; social media does remove and isolate you from the outside world. Numerous times I have skipped social events, not gone to family dinners and even make excuses to not see my closest friends. The whole reasoning behind this was simple: I would rather stay home on my phone than interact with people. These past few weeks have really taught me, as dumb as this sounds, that even the littlest things are taken for granted, and that I shouldn’t devote my time to the real world rather than the media.

5. Improves your overall mood

Social media can fill you with tons of emotions, one moment you are happy because of the amount of likes you received, the next you are jealous because your friend got even more likes. Studies have shown the more time one spends on social media, the more likely they are to develop depression. This just proves the less involvement you have, the better your mood is.

Now I am not saying give up social media for good, these are just reasons for a temporary break.