Last updated on December 28th, 2022 at 09:20 am
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More and more people are doing a social media detox.
If you clicked on this post, you might be thinking about saying goodbye social media.
In this blog post, I’m going to talk about when you should say goodbye to social media, its effects as well as my own experience.
How It All Started
When I was a teenager, Facebook was booming (if my birthday posts aren’t sharing how old I am, this piece of information certainly is!).
Just like any other teenager that wanted to fit in and keep up with everyone else, I had Facebook and Twitter (Instagram wasn’t really a thing until I’ve gotten off socials).
Facebook was great in the beginning.
When school got too intense, I turned to the platform as a form of distraction.
You see what’s new with people as well as chat with your friends and classmates online.
It got to the point where I could barely finish my schoolwork without checking Facebook at least once an hour.
I didn’t really see a problem with it at first. I mean, everyone else was doing it. It’s normal.
The Turning Point
Then, one day during March Break, I was doing volunteer work.
One of the volunteers thought it would be funny to pretend to be me and post an update on my account.
After seeing how no one liked or commented on my post hours later, the guy (let’s call him Adam. I don’t even remember his name) said ‘what? How come no one acknowledged your post? How many Facebook friends do you even have?’
He said this in front of the other volunteers our age. All eyes were on me even when I looked away.
I immediately felt judged and ashamed.
I had such few Facebook friends that people didn’t even notice I posted an update.
Am I not important enough for people to comment?
Although I highly doubt ‘Adam’ remembers this incident, it left a mark on me.
Questioning My Social Media Habits
Adam made me think differently.
I want to thank him for that.
Genuinely.
He made me question my social media presence.
Looking back, I think I already subconsciously knew being on social media all the time wasn’t healthy but the younger me didn’t fully connect the dots.
I would like to say this incident caused me to permanently delete my Facebook account but it didn’t.
After this incident, I deactivated my account on and off for probably about a year although I spent more time off social media than on it.
It was a good start compared to being on social media every hour.
At first, it was really difficult.
Then I slowly detached from the platforms.
I took the plunge finally and permanently deleted my account after I graduated high school (goodbye social media!).
Because of this, I didn’t join Instagram, Snapchat and other socials for the longest time (I’m pretty much back on social media now that I’m a blogger).
Even though it took a while, I seriously don’t know if I would have taken any action if not for Adam.
Being On Social Media Constantly
Checking your social media apps for notifications can become such a habit that you find yourself doing it multiple times a day without thinking about it.
Social media is consuming.
You get sucked into this hole by scrolling mindlessly. Time goes by and you barely even notice.
It’s very much a distraction.
If you’re in your 20s, you understand the feeling of everything being up in the air. You’re feeling lost in life so you turn to these platforms because you don’t want to think about your future. You want your brain to stop thinking about your life for a while.
Unfortunately, going on social media when you’re having a hard time is rarely beneficial.
Most posts are going to be about people sharing their accomplishments.
For example, a part of you might be curious so you look someone up wanting to see how they’re doing.
Then after you do it once, you think of another person and look them up.
It’s constant—one after another.
Oh, this girl got a new boyfriend?
Okay, well I am single and no guy is interested in me.
This person got a new work opportunity?
A company I applied to for a job just rejected me.
This person is showing off her designer bag collection?
I only have two luxury bags.
These comparisons are killing you and making you feel bad about yourself.
The distraction that’s supposed to help you out of a bad mood only made you feel worse.
When to Say Goodbye Social Media
As you get older, you’ll experience pressure from society, friends, and family. The expectations that are placed on us after we reach a certain age.
This can be jobs, relationships, anything really.
Social media is the place to go when you want to see people reach their life milestones.
It might even motivate you for a bit but if you start to feel upset because you’re walking a different life path, it’s a sign to get off social media.
No matter how confident you are as a person, there will be times when you feel defeated.
Another time when you should say goodbye to social media is when you have a lot on your plate. This creates a distraction and will help you procrastinate rather than face your issues head-on.
There’s no need to wait until you’re super overwhelmed before taking action.
You can start now if you’ve never detoxed from social media. It’s never too late to do a cleanse.
You can start one day a week to say bye social media to test out the waters. Once you’re used to that, you can up the time if you need to.
For others with an all-or-nothing mindset, you can force yourself to be completely off the grid for a few weeks or months.
Hard to Say Goodbye
It’s going to be an adjustment from the start at first, for sure. Especially if it’s your first time doing a social media cleanse or it’s been a while since you’ve done one.
When you leave social media, there will be times when you feel like you’re missing out.
It creates a sense of FOMO.
You went from knowing people’s life updates to none (this excludes your closest relationships because you have a relationship with them outside of social media like texting, calling or hanging out in person).
The main information source you once had 24/7 access to is now not available.
There are other things you’ll miss out on like keeping in contact with people you’re not close enough to have your number and the latest trends.
Benefits of Leaving Social Media
On the other hand, there are several benefits to staying off social media.
You get more free time. It might surprise you how much extra time you have on your hands without those platforms.
Use the time you would spend on social media to do some stay-at-home activities or check things off your bucket list.
Give your eyes a break from all that unnecessary screen time.
It also allows you to focus on your own life. Being away from the platforms might even feel liberating because you’re focusing on yourself.
Saying goodbye to social media even if it’s temporary is a form of self-care that everyone can benefit from.
It can seriously help you with your mental health and self-esteem.
Once you stop being active on social media long enough, it will become your new norm. You might even reach a point where you almost forget so many other people spend time on these platforms. It’s an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ thing.
Final Thoughts – Saying Goodbye Social Media
Social media isn’t all that bad.
It all just depends on how you use those platforms.
The main benefit is staying connected to the people around you, even the ones you once lost in touch with.
It’s also natural to want to share your joy and happiness with others. It feels good to get attention and validation.
But if you do it too much, you get sucked into this black hole.
The overall lesson is to learn how to be in control of your social media habits. Monitor your screentime so it’s not all-consuming.
And sometimes, that means pressing restart on your social media habits by completely turning it off for a little while.
Now to You
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xoxo,
Nicole