Recently, I took a week break from Instagram and Twitter because my friend did it and talked about how much less time she was spending on her phone. I was intrigued and told myself that maybe one day I could try that myself! I realized it was my time to take a break when I saw some tweets that affected me way too deeply. Immediately, I told myself it was time and deleted both Twitter and Instagram for a week. Now, I redownloaded Instagram, but I still don't have twitter on my phone and let me tell you, it has made such a big difference in my life. Here's why you should join me in this break from "social" media.
1. It actually prevents you from being social.
Okay, think about it. When you go somewhere new and you feel a little uncomfortable, it's almost everyone's default to go on their phone because it feels safe. Not only that, but some of my friends and I don't even talk on the phone because we see each others' social media posts and think that's enough. Little did I know that there was so much happening in my friend's life that I didn't even know about! It's important to be in the real world in the moment, instead of wondering what other people are doing on social media.
2. It's fake.
I totally understand wanting to put your best self forward for your posts on social media. Here's where it can start to get toxic though. There is FaceTune used in almost everyone's Instagram photos to match the trends of being perfect on social media. It makes everyone seem like they're perfect all the time, and it can actually make you feel worse about yourself for not being as "perfect" as them. It definitely happened to me.
3. It's a constant reminder of the past.
Moving on and forgiving is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your own growth. If you are constantly seeing people from your past posting and interacting, it is going to keep you in the past when there are so many new people and connections you can make.
4. It wastes time.
As a college student, your time is SO important. Everyone's advice to college students today is to learn how to manage your time well, and if your absentmindedly spending hours on social media per day, it's going to be so easy to fall behind in school! If it's not even on your phone, you'll be amazed by how much more free time you have per day.
5. You might actually be addicted.
The constant need to be on social media can actually be an addiction! It's so instantly satisfying to see people like your posts and give you attention, that it sucks people in, myself included. Though I tried to keep myself from worrying about "likes" by turning off notifications for Instagram, it almost made me more curious about who saw my post and I would check constantly.
6. You could even get more sleep!
How many of you go on social media right before you fall asleep and right when you wake up? Think about cutting that amount of time out and just adding it to your night sleep. You'd probably gain almost an hour of sleep just by deleting social media.
7. You will feel more connected to yourself.
After this week of having no social media, I felt like it was really time for me to reflect and realize how unhealthy my mindset was. I was constantly comparing myself to others instead of going out and changing the way I was acting. I would just end up pitying myself instead of focusing on things that made me happy. That week gave me time to reflect and see that toxic behavior that I was giving myself.
Though it seems almost impossible at the moment, I promise you can do it. If you decide to commit to a week, there will be a time when you just want to go redownload it and see what everyone is up to. I promise as soon as you get past that part, you are set. That is the hardest part, but the next day I felt so much more free and myself. If I did it, you definitely can too.
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