Why It Might Be Time to Turn Off Social Media

Is it time for you to turn off social media and focus your life on other things? Here are a few things to consider when the Internet starts to do more harm than good.

As of January 1st, I decided to log off Instagram for awhile, simply because I’ve never logged on and thought to myself “Wow, that made me feel great!”

When it comes to the Internet in general, I’m realizing that the less I know, the better I tend to feel.

 

I mean, how crazy is it that we can wake up in the morning, pick up a little glass device, and instantly know what everyone else all around the world is thinking and doing?

We know who everyone’s been hanging out with lately, even Justin Bieber.

We know who’s been to the hot new restaurant and who hasn’t. We know up to the minute news stories and celebrity secrets from just moments before. Word these days travels fast.

But along with this privilege we also learn about the parties we didn’t get invited to.
We learn the ins and outs of a stranger’s rehab stay 2,000 miles away.
We learn about the people we considered friends that came to town and didn’t call us.
We learn where we’ve come up short.. or should I say where our social calendars – have come up short.

I’m starting to think that maybe we were never meant to know this much. 

Is it good to turn off social media?

In a recent study, 32% of U.S. adults admitted to being negatively affected by social media. 55% of those surveyed had taken a social media break for their mental health. The fact is, what we intake on our phones and devices is having an effect on how we live our lives. So yes, it’s good to turn off social media when you’re able to do so.

We have too much information, which has caused us to judge our own lives through the lens of what we know about everyone else’s. And so a lot of us are even more stressed out, even more dissatisfied, even more lost than we would be otherwise.

I realized that for me, Instagram was a place I went to temporarily escape from my own life by pre-occupying my mind with someone else’s. There was no news or important information coming in – it was literally just me comparing outfits and Friday night plans with completely random people and acquaintances I hadn’t spoken to in forever. But no more.

I’m creating boundaries around socials, from logging off on Sundays to sleeping with my phone in a different room.

Whether you figure out how to stay off social media for a week or just turn off social media notifications, there are a lot of different small steps you can take to have a healthier digital life. 

 

How do I get off social media?

Want to get off social media? Start by accepting that you don’t need to know what anyone else did last night.

How will that information influence for the better what you’re going to do today?
You don’t need Kylie Jenner’s selfies to help you decide how to do your hair.
You don’t need to see another photo of Taylor Swift’s cat before you head to work.

You don’t have to update your feed to get friends to hang out with you.

We only have one life to live. And It could end 50 years from now, but it could also end tomorrow.

So call your friends. Get out and do things in person. Exchange numbers with someone you want to get to know. Take a walk and leave your phone at home. You may be shocked by how freeing it feels.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to live MY life instead of living vicariously through everyone else’s.
There has to be a way to stay relevant, yet still do things in a different way.

So yes, I’m sure you did something really lovely last night with some very lovely people.
But I’d really like for that to no longer have any effect or influence on how I feel about myself.

No, I don’t know what you did last night – and I really don’t need to.

Now let’s get off of social media for awhile, and go become the people we’ve always wanted to be. 

*This post was first published on February 15, 2016*