Raise your hand if you’ve ever gone on a “social media cleanse” only to return to the apps a few days later. Or if you’ve ever considered deleting social media, but shook off the idea because it doesn’t seem plausible to live without it. *Hand slowly raises.* We’ve all been there.
If you know me, you know I’m an avid social media hater — but, admittedly, it took me a while to finally commit to ending my relationship with social media. You see, I spent almost all of my teenage years obsessing over what to post, letting likes and comments get to me, having increased FOMO, and just feeling disconnected from real life. My mental health and self-confidence had never been worse because I was constantly comparing myself to others — which, let’s be honest, is not healthy. So, after years of deleting and re-downloading Instagram and Snapchat, I decided to quit social media for good (or, at least those two, which are the absolute worst).
I’ve been loving the dark life; I enjoy my time with friends and family much more now, and I have better, healthier ways to feel good about myself. In other words, I no longer feel the need to see what all of my friends are up to every second of the day, or post a photo and anxiously await comments (news flash: they’re actually incredibly fake). Waving goodbye to social media is something I’ve been recommending to just about all of my friends.
As it turns out, I’m not the only one who’s sick of social media and sees the harm it can cause. Celebrities of all ages are starting to join the anti-social media club, and I have to admit — I hope the movement causes a wave of followers (no pun intended).
Iconic pop musician Lorde is one of many celebrities who no longer uses social media. In an interview with James Corden, she opened up about her decision to completely cleanse herself of all social media platforms. “I felt like my brain wasn’t working very well anymore,” she said, which led her to remove her accounts on all social platforms. In the video, she admitted that disconnecting from the online world was “horribly difficult,” but it’s given her much more time to work on her songwriting.
Lorde isn’t the only celebrity taking this step, though. Lana Del Rey also recently announced that she would be deleting her social media accounts. In a video posted to her profile shortly before deactivating, she said, “I’m going to just keep my circle a bit closer and continue to develop some other skills and interests,” and explained that she needed more “privacy and transparency.”
Honestly, I’m super impressed to see celebrities turning against social media. I know it’s disappointing to not see what your favorite celebrities are up to every day, but maybe it’ll give you a chance to think about why we even rely on social media in the first place. Plus, I can only imagine how jam-packed and overwhelming celebrities’ lives are already, and having to connect with social media after all of that seems nearly impossible. This doesn’t only apply to famous people, either; we’re all busy, and sometimes it can be good to take a little break.
It’s clear that more celebs are beginning to find social media to be too distracting and not worth their time — and frankly, apps like Instagram and Snapchat aren’t worth yours, either. Even if you’re not famous, social media still causes a major interference to what actually matters in life. Let’s take advice from these (super successful and admirable) celebrities and join the “dark” side — if not forever, at least for a little while.