Social media is great, don’t get me wrong, but we spend (including me) a lot of time on it. Maybe even too much. Social media has become a part of our lives. From checking our feeds before we get out of bed to scrolling through Instagram before we go to sleep, we are constantly connected to the world through our devices. While social media has its benefits, there are compelling reasons to spend less time on social media. In this blog post, I will give you a few reasons and how it can change your life.
Reasons to spend less time on Social Media
- It can be addictive
Social media is designed to be addictive. The algorithms are designed to keep us engaged and scrolling through our feeds for as long as possible. The constant stimulation and the dopamine hit we get from likes and comments keep us coming back for more. The problem is that this addiction can be detrimental to our mental health and well-being. Spending hours on social media can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. And not the algorithms that are the ‘problem’, but we also get notifications from those social media platforms if we are not using the app. Luckily, we can at least turn off the notifications and on TikTok and Instagram you can set a time limit if you want.
- It can be a time sink
Social media is a massive time sink. It’s easy to lose hours scrolling through your feeds, watching videos, and commenting on posts. The problem is that time is a finite resource, and every minute you spend on social media is a minute you could have spent on something more productive or fulfilling. If you find yourself spending hours on social media each day, it may be time to reevaluate how you are spending your time. Sure, spending some time on it, is not the issue. But if you spend time on those platforms, while you forget to take care of yourself or neglected school/work, then it has become a problem. Everyone has 24 hours in a day, choose wisely what you are going to do with that time.
- It can be harmful to your self-esteem
Social media shows the highlights of people’s lives. We tend to post only the best and most exciting moments, which can lead to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. Comparing yourself to others on social media is a surefire way to feel unhappy and unfulfilled. It’s important to remember that what you see on social media is not an accurate representation of someone’s entire life. A lot of Instagram models use Photoshop to make their photos ‘perfect’. And sometimes it takes forever before they took the right photo, some people put a lot of effort and time into creating content.
- It can be a source of negativity
Social media can be a breeding ground for negativity. Trolling, hate speech, and cyberbullying are all too common on social media platforms. It’s easy to get sucked into a negative spiral and spend hours engaging in arguments and debates with strangers online. This kind of negativity can be toxic and harmful to your mental health. If you ever get a hate comment, don’t interact with it. You can delete it but just ignore the message. And make sure you follow the right people. Stay away from toxic accounts. Just follow the people who inspire you.
- It can be a distraction
Social media can be a significant distraction, especially when you are trying to focus on important tasks. Notifications, messages, and alerts can interrupt your work and make it difficult to concentrate. By spending less time on social media, you can increase your productivity and focus on the things that matter most to you. The best way is to do your work and everything else first and then you can give yourself permission to look on social media. You are in control of how often you look on social media. Make better decisions if it distracts you.
These are the reasons why you should spend less time on Social Media. Again, I think social media is still great. I still use it. It all comes down to how often you spend time on it and how you use it. Do you use it to be negative and hateful towards others? Or are you just having fun with it?
Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash