Whys and Hows about Decluttering Your Mind and Taking a Social Media Detox!

Everyone needs to disconnect from the virtual world to connect to the real world. Here is how and why.

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp… While the world went into a lockdown, and we disconnected from each other physically, we happened to almost immediately check in virtually. Social Media usage now seems to be the only way people know what is happening in other’s lives. An average person spends at least an hour and forty-five minutes on their favorite app. But this is only one app itself. Now that the world is working in a virtual setting, we not only spend time on the internet for social purposes we also spend time for work purposes. All and all our screen time is off the charts. For if you happen to take a break from work, you end up scrolling on Instagram or Facebook.

While social media has done wonders in terms of connectivity and keeping others updated on not only their inner circles but also the happenings in and around the world, it has its downfalls. Now that we’re a part of the virtual world, we no longer have the same kind of privacy we have offline, online. Not only that, social media algorithms tend to predict the kind of mood you’re in while also promoting the need to scroll longer.

With the pitfalls of social media, comes mental health issues. Constantly scrolling on social media can negatively affect your mental health in terms of self-esteem, comparison, and competitiveness. Since social networking sites are known to lure you in and keep you addicted it’s important to learn how to take a break from social media.

You need to identify your patterns with social media to know whether or not you are using it healthily. This means knowing when to unplug and change your social media usage patterns. You must always keep in mind that using social media is a sedentary behavior. Even though you’re constantly online and plugged in, increased usage of social media will reduce your face to face interaction capabilities. You must plug out to tune into what’s happening around you.

If you want to take a break from social media you need to do the following:

* Turn off all your social media notifications. Whatever social media apps you have, make sure you turn off the notifications. If the notification doesn’t light up your screen, you will not have the urge to check the app.
* Self-care. Allocate the time you spend on social media to doing some other kind of mood-boosting activity. When you feel the urge to scroll, go out and take a walk. If you need to talk to someone instead of texting them, give them a video call instead.
* Allocate limited hours in the day to social media usage. While that may not be easy all the time. Slowly try and limit your social media usage and cut down on the hours you spend online. This can also be done by using social media limiting apps.
* Put your phone away from you- When your phone is away from you won’t feel the need to constantly use it. Make sure your phone is away from you before you go to bed to ensure that you won’t be scrolling through the night.

Here are four benefits of taking a social media detox:

1) Your self-esteem improves- Most of the time we spend comparing our lives to the life we see others leading on social media. Time spent away from these apps helps you feel better about yourself.
2) Reduces Anxiety- Social media tends to make us competitive in terms of likes and comments if one person has a certain number, we would like to have more. So, when you take a break from posting, you find yourself not to worry about the regular social media likes and comments.
3) Conquer FOMO- Fear of missing out is something we all fall prey to. So when you turn off your social media notifications, it might be weird in the beginning, and you might feel like you are disconnected from your social circles. But soon you’ll stop feeling bad about not knowing things.
4) Appreciate special moments more- We have all been the ones who have wanted to post everything they are doing. You have wanted to document what you’re doing when. But a detox from social helps you be present at the moment and take in what’s going on around you.

So, the above is our thoughts and tricks on how to detox from social media. If you have anything you would like to share with us, even if it’s your detox story. Please feel free to drop a comment in the box below!

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Check out our post on why laughter is the best medicine by clicking here!

If you want to know more about the benefits of a social media detox click here!

Originally published at https://www.fuzia.com.