How Social Media Detoxes Have Improved My Mental Health
If you know me, you’ll notice that I frequently go M.I.A on social media; the most recent time being during the countdown to the launch of this website. I was in the midst of promoting my blog, and ended up deactivating my accounts and stepping away for a couple of weeks; it all became too much.
I found myself obsessing over my follower count, and how many likes I was getting on social media. I started comparing myself to others, and eventually stopped working on my site all together. I was so consumed in social media that I completely lost sight of why I was building this blog in the first place...so I took a break for my own sanity and mental health.
Here’s what I learned from my 30-day social media detox:
1. I Became Happier and More Driven
Social media was the driving force of my unhappiness. Seeing other 20-somethings living the life I thought I should be living, made me feel like a failure. The truth of the matter is, social media is artificial. People are able to show their accomplishments, and mask their shortcomings. This is something that took me tuning out to understand. It doesn't make sense to compare yourself to what others are posting on social media, because social media is a false reality; they can be struggling just as much as you are and are just not showing it. Since my last social media detox, I've became more focused on myself; making sure to pat myself on the back for all of my accomplishments, and work towards MY OWN goals.
2. I Allowed my Creativity to Bloom
Being so tuned into social media stunted my creative thinking. With social media, you're more inclined to follow like-minded individuals (people with the same views as you). This causes lack of innovation and creativity. By tuning out, I was able to bounce ideas from different avenues that I normally would not look into on social media. My creativity was able to bloom in the work place and in my art.
3. I Became More Productive
I'm almost embarrassed to admit the amount of time I used to spend on social media. I would scroll through my news feeds as soon as I woke up in the morning, scroll through on my way to work, scroll through while at work, scroll through on my way home from work, and scroll through before I went to sleep. It came to a point where I wasn't focusing on my job and/or hobbies; my main focus was social media, and that was a huge problem. After stepping away from social media, I was able to become more productive at work, improve my social life, and finish-up my website!
4. I Became More Grateful
When you're consumed with social media, it's easy to focus a lot of your attention on what others have, instead of focusing on all of the great things that you have. By stepping away from social media, "the grass is greener" concept erased from my brain. I am now super grateful for my family, friends, and career; I no longer desire to live the life of someone I see on social media.
5. I Stopped Caring About What People Think
My fixation on likes, comments, and follower-count was super unhealthy. I started to become obsessed with how people viewed me on social media. I realized that I was putting on an artificial persona and trying to be someone I wasn't for people I didn't even consider to be my friend. My 30-day social media detox definitely put a lot into perspective, and made me realize who I am and who I want to be. Screw what my social media followers think of me!