Now, I am not the type of person who will take social media breaks. If I ever tried, I would fail miserably. I could last a few hours or maybe overnight before going back on it. There are real benefits to taking a social media break though, and I am realizing all of that through my experiences.
For the past couple of days, I have been on my break from a social media app. If anyone knows me, they know I am rather active on social media. It is an easy way to escape a lot of things, but it is addictive. And in other ways, social media is necessary for communication between others, or I am running an account on behalf of an organization.
I can only speak on my experiences because it is all new to me, but it is a strange experience to work through. There are moments when my fingers impulsively swipe to find the app, and it is not there. So, if you are planning on removing yourself from social media, I recommend deleting the app too. However, this would be wise, but you should definitely put down your password somewhere in case you forget it. Anyway, by deleting the app, it helps you fight most of your temptations, and slowly, you get used to not having that app be on your phone.
There is a part of me that feels more at peace now. Ever since the sophomore year started, people are more reliant on devices to communicate. The amount of notifications that I have received has been exhausting. I feel lost within my own inbox. After I took my social media break, I am much happier with the decrease in notifications that show up on my lock screen. If you are looking to lessen the number of notifications on your phone and not ready for a social media break, just know that you can always customize what notifications you get in certain apps.
My friends have also done their own breaks from social media last year and this year. From their experiences, it was much needed. They were able to focus on other things, and it gave them the mental alone time that helped them too.
This year has caused a lot of stress and possibly breakdowns for some. As my one friend is telling me, self-care is important. Even if it is just a few minutes, it can be helpful. Therefore, I would never hesitate to take social media breaks too. It did cause some complications for me because I worry if people do not know other ways to communicate with me. Additionally, I never gave a set date of return, so it makes me worry that I will miss out on a lot. However, I am doing what is best for my mental health, and that is something I need to prioritize first these days.