Does excessive use of social media platforms give you a lot of stress? Digital detox is the solution. Here’s everything you need to know about social media cleanse.
Do you know that an average person spends at least one hour and 40 minutes per day looking at their favourite social media sites and apps? Social media has now become a major part of our lives and we automatically tend to spend more time on them than before. We post photos on Instagram, watch our friend’s stories on Snapchat, air our opinions on Twitter, give our friends, family, and acquaintances the latest updates on Facebook.
We scroll in the morning; we scroll in the evening just to keep a check on what others are doing. High-five. Agree or not, but aside from making us feel unworthy or inadequate at times, social media can also be very addictive. It’s 2020, we all are at home, in fact working from home and in this scenario, social media has taken over us and has started to create anxiety. I think there can be no better time than now to think about a social media cleanse.
Ohh, wait! Are you still thinking, how will you be able to break your long-loved relationship with your social media apps and sites? Well, let me make it clear to you that you have come to the right place. Here in this article, you will find answers to your queries about how to take a social media cleanse and what benefits come with it.
Social media anxiety? You might need a social media cleanse
Have you ever experienced that wave of anxiety after seeing your friend’s vacation pictures on Instagram? Or starting to feel anxious suddenly when a photo of your ex pops up on your feed? Are you also suffering from this so-called disease were you continuously check your social media apps to check how many likes you are getting or feel bad when your snap streaks break?
Social media can make you feel stressed, envious, or insecure. This is why taking a break from social media can help you improve your mental health. “Social media cleanse” is a fancy term for taking a break from social media. Applying social media cleanse for a few days helps to overcome the negative impacts of social media and will obviously direct us towards an up to snuff use of social media platforms.
Seeing others polished images of only happy moments and the fun they are having often makes us lose sight of the fact that social media isn’t an accurate depiction of other people’s lives. Attractive photos of others present on social platforms create an unrealistic expectation and we start comparing our lives to that of others. This can be quite harmful as it makes us feel more disconnected and isolated from the world.
Don’t worry! I am not asking you to take off from social media (unless you want to!). But remember that overuse of social media can lead to anxiety, depression, or a sudden feeling of sadness or loneliness. So, if you are experiencing any of the about symptoms, I would suggest you to consider a social media cleanse and take a break from it for a few days.
Why you might consider a digital detox?
Firstly, it’s important to have an answer to the question: Is digital detox the end of social media? The answer is no. It is important to have a digital detox for a few days in order to control the use and effects of social media on our daily lives. Taking a break from social media can actually help us live real-life rather than getting influenced by other’s virtual life. If you are fine with your social media habits, then of course there is no need to guilt yourself into a social media cleanse. But if your love or I must say addiction for social media platforms – like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat – is causing you a lot of stress then digital detox is a solution for you.
Here are a few mental health benefits that social media cleanse or digital detox can cause:
1. Help you conquer your FOMO:
Studies have discovered that the more time you spend on social media sites or apps, the more likely you are to develop depression. Digital detoxing and social media cleansing will help you break your social comparison cycle with others. Not using social media can create a feeling of missing out, and that’s naturally because of the addictive nature that comes with social media platforms.
Social networking has exacerbated this problem of FOMO. The most important element in FOMO is the word “fear,” It makes us do things even when we necessarily don’t want to. It’s logic versus emotions. Not using social media can definitely make you feel that you are losing on something trendy or important but you can minimise this feeling after your social media detox by properly scheduling or planning out the use of social apps.
2. Help you relax:
In this era of filters, Instagram models and influencers, online fitness celebrities, and readily available photo-editing tools, you are particularly burdening yourself with the pressure of looking better than others. It is totally fine if you are not acing that selfie look or you are not hitting selfie angles like a Kardashian (BTW they use a photographer for that selfie). Relax.
There are many reports and studies that claim that excessive use of social media can lead to things like decreased self-esteem, loneliness, and depression. Responding continuously to other’s social media posts can be quite stressful and getting away from that can actually make you feel a lot more relaxed.
3. Help you sleep better:
Using too much social media can take a toll on your sleeping habits. With the advancement of technology, there has been a lot of change in people’s habits. Social media has become so much a part of our lives now that we start as well as end our day with mobile phones.
Social media cleanse can help us have better sleep as digitally detoxing our lives can make us plan out other things in life. Freeing yourself from excessive use of social media can help prioritise other things and create a balance in life.
Try these apps for social media cleanse
Social media addiction can be really harmful to your mental as well as physical health. Try these apps in order to take small steps for healthy social media use:
- SPACE-Break Phone Addiction: Mobile phones have not become a necessity for us. It is now very hard to disconnect ourselves from its use. But, if you want to take back some control and break your app habit, then Space is the app that you need to give a try.
- AppDetox: If you are looking to digitally detox your life by avoiding the usage of some particular social media apps then App detox can help you. This app will help you set some usage limits to stop yourself from spending more time than you meant to on individual apps.
- Flipd: Flipd is the app that effectively hides social media apps and games for you so that you can stay focused and on-task. The app will also motivate you by tracking the time you saved.