As an early member of the Gen-Z generation, I grew up with Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. These social media sites matured over my childhood, growing with me. However, when I was in grade school and high school, there was no awareness or conversation about how harmful these sites were. Due to this complex situation, I have mixed feelings about social media. On the one hand, it’s an essential tool, like my Keurig coffee-maker. On the other hand, I find myself increasingly disturbed by the reports of increased anxiety, depression, body image issues, and general dissatisfaction connected to social media usage. I decided to take a break – or, as people commonly refer to it, a social media cleanse. Although I didn’t permanently delete my account, I deleted it off my phone. My removal from daily interaction with Instagram and TikTok changed my life. I still use it on the weekends, but I stay off of it during the week. My cleanse allowed me to connect more with myself, my family, and my friends, and it provided many other health benefits. Here are 10 reasons why I recommend a social media cleanse.
- You feel better about your body.
After so many years on social media, it was easy to naturalize and internalize feelings of anxiety and doubt about my body. It wasn’t until I stopped using Instagram that I realized that most of my self-consciousness centered around seeing other bodies and constantly comparing myself to them. After my cleanse, I felt more confident, and strangely, I thought less about how my body looked. I just viewed my body as my body and equally lovely whether I was wearing sweatpants or a dress.
- You connect more with the present moment.
I am particularly guilty of thinking about the future and past even when I should be enjoying the present moment. After quitting Instagram, I had to focus on other forms of connection, which forced me to talk more to people in my class, connect in-person with my friends, and ultimately exist more in the moment. Instagram and social media sites often make us believe that everything we’re doing has to be ‘prepared’ for online viewing, which is a harmful concept. Rather than focusing on other people or the image of ourselves, we should be focusing on forming meaningful connections with those we love.
- You have more free time to de-stress and focus on more important activities.
Obviously, I gained time after I quit Instagram. Think about all the minutes you spend scrolling, and then think about how that time would be spent if you weren’t doing that. Time is a precious commodity, and after I left Instagram, I realized that I felt happier and more productive after filling my breaks with more fulfilling activities, like going out with my friends, going on walks, or watching my favourite TV shows with my coffee.
- You learn about yourself (instead of the ‘you’ on social media)
This is the benefit that I valued the most. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you have to promote a certain image of yourself on social media. Whether you’re posting images that emphasize your program, your personality, or your hobbies, you are curating an image of yourself, and it’s easy to start confusing what you actually enjoy with what you think others would like to see. By quitting Instagram, I stopped curating my life in this way. I began to learn about myself in ways that were totally disconnected from other peoples’ opinions of me, which is a freeing and amazing process.
- You sleep better.
Instagram and other social media sites are known for exacerbating or causing sleep issues, partly because people go to bed right after scrolling on social media. Removing social media from my nighttime routine allowed me to properly wind down for sleep, enabling more restful sleeps and more fulfilling mornings.
- You feel prouder of your accomplishments.
Social media can make you feel like you’re falling behind. Every post contains tributes to everyone else’s progress, and it can easily make you feel ashamed for your struggles. However, after leaving Instagram, I only focus on my own accomplishments. Focusing on your life makes you fully appreciate how much work and perseverance you’ve put into your successes.
- You feel less worried about the state of the world.
I have always been interested and aware of political and social issues, and I often use the internet and social media to hear other peoples’ opinions about ongoing situations. Even though it’s good to be informed, this can drain your emotional battery and make you feel overwhelmed. Quitting Instagram has allowed me to focus on what I can control and I’ve felt happier and more stable since I’ve limited my usage.
- You stop mindlessly scrolling.
Most of the time, when I was bored, I would scroll for minutes or hours to pass the time. This activity seems harmless, but beyond sucking up time, it makes you feel numb and apathetic. I found that after I stopped mindlessly scrolling, I felt more present and aware of the world around me, often picking up new hobbies or spending more time on things I valued.
- You gain a broader, more accurate perspective of the world.
Social media capitalizes on the ‘perfect’ pictures that people curate and post. We all know that people generally post happy and attractive moments, but that doesn’t change how easy it is to fall into the trap of thinking everyone has a better life. By quitting Instagram, I was able to see that everybody has their own struggles and failures like me. More importantly, I started to forgive myself for my mistakes since I knew that everybody struggles sometimes.
- You spend less money.
Since social media has to make money somehow, advertisements target your spending habits and interests, making it harder to resist those ‘coincidental’ ads about new Lululemon sweaters or a new book. After I stopped using Instagram, those ads were limited to the Internet and television, which reduced the amount of times that I impulsively bought something because of an ad.
It can be difficult to separate the benefits of connecting to people in our lives from the harmful effects of constant involvement on social media. Removing yourself from social media, even for a couple hours a day, has innumerable health and mental wellness benefits that change how you see the world, yourself, and other people. It’s important to remember that the reason that social media was created was to connect and broadcast the meaningful moments of our lives. When social media starts to obscure and reduce those meaningful moments, we have to realize that although pictures may endure against the test of time, memories last longer.