Social media is definitely a good medium to connect with people with whom you had otherwise lost contact with. However, social media does have some downsides if not used in the right manner. That said, it’s quite difficult to cope with social media addiction as it’s everywhere right from Facebook, Instagram, and even beyond.
Benefits of Staying Off Social Media
We spend hours of our time scrolling through social media and that we ignore real-time face situations. It’s not that social media is not good but if it is used in excessive amounts, then it will definitely impart some detrimental risks to your day-to-day life.
Have you ever wondered what will happen if you limit yourself from social media activities? Here are some benefits that you’ll get to experience once you decide to stay off social media.
Related | How to Get Rid of Technology Addiction
1. You’ll start living in the moment
There are people out there who share their daily instances of activities on social media. Be it a vacation or a wedding, the pictures are posted instantly. This indicates that many of us are living up to the norms of social media and that instead of living the current moment, we are more excited to see how people will react to our post. If this is the case with you, then it’s high time that you take some time out of your social media life and rather make some real-life memories.
2. You’ll have a lot of free time
Taking time off social media means you’ll have a lot of time with you. In that time, you can do some creative work, like read a book or try a DIY hack. Well, you can do anything that you like. Go for a walk or play some sport with your friends. This way, you’ll be less bothered with the activities happening on social media. This will also improve your overall mood and that you’ll not feel stressed about the incidents taking place on social media.
3. You’ll learn more about yourself
Staying off from social media will definitely give you a chance to explore more things about yourself. Maybe you’ll get to innovate a hidden talent that you didn’t know existed within you. You’ll experience a feeling of relief as you won’t have a temptation to look after your feed on social media. Instead in your spare time, you’ll look for doing new things that you would have rather spend scrolling through Instagram or Facebook.
4. You’ll see your decision-making skills getting improved
In this technology-driven world, most of our decisions are influenced by what we observe on social media. You may not want to accept this at first but ask yourself a question, don’t you get influenced by the activities that take place on social media. Once you distort yourself from social media, I am sure you’ll become much better at making real-time decisions.
5. You’ll not have the Fear of Missing Out
Well, before getting started with this one, I’ll clarify what exactly Fear of Missing Out means. FOMO is a feeling that other people are having living more better lives than you are. It involves emotions that make you feel like you’re missing out on something. This level of feeling is mainly experienced when you’re active on social media most of the time. Social media is a site where a person shares every moment of his/her life which may instill a sense of comparison in your behavior. Also, research has concluded that social media when used for a longer period of time can lead to stress which is mainly caused by FOMO. Taking some time off from technology will help you conquer FOMO.
6. You’ll start connecting with the real world
Connecting with someone through social media is good but nothing can beat the potential of a real in-person conversation. Even if you’re an introvert, you’ll still need some human interaction. Taking a break from social media will give you an opportunity to interact with real-time incidents. True connections can only be made through a person’s physical presence. Meeting people in person will also improve your social skills which is an important factor in life.
7. Your self-esteem will get boosted
Accept it or not, Social media is a place that can either elevate your mood or drop it down within seconds. You post a picture and may not get the number of likes you’d expected. This will ultimately affect your self-esteem and will even lower your confidence. Remember not everything that you do on social media matters, there’s life beyond that too. Other people’s validation and whether they like or a picture or not should not bother you. Rather focus on things that you think will help you achieve important goals in life. So staying off social media will give to time to learn a new hobby, make you do things you love and thereby boost your self-esteem.
FAQs
Why should you stay off social media?
Well, it’s not that you should completely pull yourself out from social media activities but yes you should set a time limit for its use. There are cases of long-term anxiety issues observed in teenagers due to excessive use of social media.
How long should I stay off social media?
It’s totally a personal choice, however, a break of 3-4 hours off social media is a really good idea.
How does social media affect mental health?
Excessive use of social media increases the risk of depression, anxiety, loneliness and self-harm.
What can I do instead of social media?
Read a book, exercise, go for a walk, cook your favorite meal, spend some time with family and friends.
Conclusion
This was all about some really important benefits of staying off social media. Well, it’s kind of difficult to suddenly quit social media but believe me once you do that, you’ll surely experience some note-worthy changes in your life. You’ll most probably lose the urge of picking up your phone for new notifications. All in all, you’ll start making beautiful memories rather than scrolling through your feed and starting on-screen for several hours.
Comment down below which of the above-mentioned benefits you found most engaging.
