So, it’s been 6 days since I started the social media detox i.e. avoiding myself from all kinds of social media applications. The addiction of looking into my phone constantly without any specific reason really haunted me. It also affected my attention span as I was not able to properly concentrate on myself.
It’s hard to get away from any kind of addiction as the thing you do constantly and repeatedly over time becomes your habit eventually. It’s hard to break the chain but you’ve got to acknowledge the things which are really affecting your daily course of action. It’s exactly what I did and decided to put myself away from all social media stuff.
I use many social media platforms ranging from Facebook, Messanger, Twitter, Youtube, Snapchat, Reddit and LinkedIn. I realized the fact that being active on all these platforms consumes a hell lot of time. A recent survey showed that an adult spends 6/7 hours of his/her time on average just looking at the screen. This is serious data given the fact that youths are pillars of the future. Spending time on the phone is far easier than doing something productive.
Another reason why everyone should just get rid of social media is that it compels you to compare yourself with others. Each and every person in this world are unique and everyone’s got their own quality. So, comparing yourself with others doesn’t really make any sense. Although our senses accept this fact, social media forces us the belief otherwise.
Companies like Google and Meta(formerly Facebook) rely on users’ data as the main source of their income. Their algorithm is designed such that user spends much of their time on these platforms so that they could generate a huge amount through running ads. This only benefits these huge Multinationals while jeopardizing users’ mental health and social life.
While some users could control their screen time strictly on a daily basis, for someone like me social media detox was the only option since it had gone severe. I joined Twitter in 2014 and Facebook in 2016. There have been barely any days which I’ve spent without using these platforms which explains the reason behind my addiction.
Benefits of Social Media Detox
Talking on a personal level, I have become much more productive than I used to be previously. I don’t care how many followers I got, how many likes I got in my post and stuff like that. I have overcome thinking about my digital image and think what other people would think of me.
I have started to make a ‘To-do List’ and follow my routine strictly. I’ve realized how much time I’ve wasted on social media all these years since I’ve got so much free time after completing my routine tasks as well. Certainly, social media detox has helped me to become a more complete human.