When it comes to social media, I think most of our generation can admit that we’re a little addicted. It’s fun being able to always stay connected with people, post about whatever you want and build your own digital presence. However, like most things, there comes a point where too much of something isn’t good.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve found myself getting caught up in all of it and I know I’m not the only one. It’s so easy for us to start comparing our posts to others, constantly check our story views or become disappointed with an amount of likes we get—sometimes, without even realizing it. It seems like today every event revolves around getting the perfect instagram picture: if you don’t post about it, then it never happened. The pressure to be perfect is honestly overwhelming and unreachable. The combination of these things takes away from our ability to just experience things and adds so much more unnecessary stress. This is when you know it might be time for a break.
Although I hate to admit it, decreasing my time on social media was hard. I genuinely enjoy seeing what my friends are up to and like a lot of others, it’s where I get a majority of my daily news. I put a lot of effort into my instagram feed and creating the perfect aesthetic is like a form of creativity. So, I decided to just take small steps.
When I wake up in the morning, I no longer immediately scroll through my phone. Instead, I get ready, listen to music and have time to myself to just form my own thoughts without relying on media to do that for me. When I started doing this I found that my mornings were overall a lot better. I have a better mood and attitude for the day because I stopped exposing myself to something that could influence how I feel. Additionally, without the usual ten minutes spent on my phone at the start of each morning, I had more time to get ready (or sleep in, which is usually what I do).
Overall, social media can be a really fun thing! It’s proved to be an asset in many ways, when used in moderation. I encourage everyone to take a social media detox every once and a while (even if it’s just for a little bit) and see what happens!