Social Media Detox: What is it and why you should consider one

5 Reasons why you should consider a social media detox

A social media detox is a period of time when a person steps away from accessing social media sites via technology such as computers, tablets and smart phones. ‘Detoxing’ is often seen as a way of focusing on the ‘here and now’ and real-life interactions, without the distractions from digital devices.

For many of us, being connected and immersed in social media is part of our everyday life. The average person spends over 2.5 hours a day on social media. Over 78% of teenagers check their devices hourly and over 50% felt they are addicted to their accounts.

There are many reasons why you may want to consider a break from social media. You may feel the need to be more ‘present’ with friends or family, you may feel it adds stress to your life, or you may feel your usage has become excessive and you are becoming addicted to your accounts.

In this blog, we look at the top 5 reasons why you should consider a social media detox in 2022.

Stress

Heavy use of technology and social media has been found to cause sleeping problems, depressive symptoms and increased stress levels.

People often feel they can’t imagine their life without their tech devices. The ever-present digital connection and need to keep checking social media accounts causes the majority of technology induced stress in adults.

Sleep

Using digital devices to check social media accounts prior to bedtime can interfere with sleep quality and quantity.

Accessing social media when you are in bed at night increases the likelihood of anxiety, insomnia and shorter sleep duration.

Mental Health

Heavy daily social media use has been linked to decreased well-being, increased symptoms of ADHD and conduct disorder, as well as worse self-regulation.

It has been proven that limiting social media use decreased symptoms of depression and loneliness and benefit your overall mental health.

Work/life balance

Always being connected can make it hard to set boundaries between your home life and work life. You may feel a pressure to respond to colleagues or check in on your social media accounts during working hours, which can lead to a reduction in overall job satisfaction, increased job stress and feelings of overwork.

Comparison and fear of missing out (FOMO)

Constant connectivity and access to the highlights of other peoples lives can give you the fear of missing out (FOMO) and make you feel like you are missing out on experiences that everyone else is having.

Every time you see an image or post about someone else’s life, it might leave you feeling like your life is less exciting than yours and feel pressure to overcommitting to social events or activities in the fear you’ll miss out.

FOMO can also leave you constantly checking your social accounts out of fear of missing an important message or post, or being the last to know something.

Doing a social media detox may help you establish a healthier, less stressful work-life balance.

We recommend you set yourself a realistic goal to step away from social media, whether that is for an hour, day or a week, and see how it improves your everyday life.

A reminder we offer a range of Mental Health training courses online. 

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