18 Benefits of Breaking Up With Social Media
Like many things in life, social media is a powerful tool. It can be used to promote mental health, intellectual stimulation, and communication with loved ones. However, there are many ways it can also harm our mental health, wasting our time and energy without meaningful purpose.
If you're starting to feel like social media is doing you more harm than good, it may be worth taking an extended break to experiment with life without it. You may decide to quit altogether, or you may come back with a more focused and intentional way of using it.
Here are 18 surprising benefits of quitting social media.
Educational Content
There is a lot of valuable content available on social media, but each platform’s unique algorithm makes it difficult to efficiently curate a feed that is educational and uplifting. As such, when you quit social media, you reclaim your power to choose what content you want to consume, whether it’s online magazines, scientific journals, or other educational content that is customized to your specific interests and goals.
No Doom-Scrolling
Besides not offering intellectual stimulation, doom-scrolling can leave us feeling overwhelmed and burnt out from the information overload. By removing this habit from our lives, we can enjoy more energy and focus.
More Free Time
The dozens of hours (or more) spent weekly on social media are replaced with free time you can use for whatever you want, especially personal growth: trying a new sport, having fun with a new hobby, or just reading more books. Whatever it is, the choices are infinite.
Better Attention-Span
One detriment to using social media platforms is that the brief content lasting just seconds decreases our attention span, making it harder to focus on media that requires more time to be consumed. Our attention span naturally reverts to normal when we disengage from such brief content and make it a habit to read articles and books, watch lengthy videos or documentaries, or similar media.
Mindfulness
Having countless social media accounts active 24/7 can keep us tied to the internet and disconnected from our personal lives, relationships, and day-to-day moments. By switching off, we can be more present and enjoy each day more.
Focusing On Yourself
When you’re exposed daily to what other people are doing, including strangers you’ll never meet, it’s inevitable to start comparing yourself to others, whether it’s physical appearance, financial status, achievements, or other aspects. By removing this daily exposure, the focus shifts back to you and how you are the protagonist of your own story, and there’s no race to compete in.
Resetting Your Dopamine Level
Social media is designed to give people a dopamine boost with each like, reblog, comment, or follow. Understandably, this dopamine boost every few minutes is not healthy, as using the app becomes addictive. Taking time off social media allows our dopamine levels to rebalance and redirects our focus on healthier methods to get a dopamine boost, for instance, exercise, good sleep, meditation, music, or sunlight.
Better Social Skills
Algorithms reward behavior that seeks validation. Posts that are provocative, evoke triggers, or incentivize viewers to argue help the platform’s goals of engagement, and as such, they are encouraged and rewarded. But these behaviors are neither healthy nor socially rewarded in day-to-day life and may even cost friendships or professional opportunities. By distancing from these habits, we improve our social skills and manners and better integrate into society.
Nervous System Regulation
The constant expectation to be accessible 24/7, being exposed to upsetting news, responding to all messages immediately, or the shower of notifications on our phones – these things can dysregulate our nervous systems over extended time. Without these, we can enjoy healthier boundaries, take time away to decompress and recharge, and we can make better use of our energy. It also helps us become less reactive or triggered since our nervous systems are more balanced.
De-Influencing Yourself
With ads surrounding us everywhere online, it can be easy to succumb to pressure and buy things we don’t need just because they look cool or our favorite influencer is advocating for them. When you step away from social media, you can make more intentional financial choices.
No FOMO
FOMO (fear of missing out) is another result of watching what friends, acquaintances, or strangers are doing on a daily basis. It can leave you feeling anxious, resentful, or self-conscious about not doing the same things. By deleting your social media accounts, you are removing this potential trigger. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
No Pressure to Perform
When everyone’s online profile is a highlight reel, it’s easy to feel pressured to perform. Posting cool stories or showing off your latest vacations or purchases can easily lead to a vicious cycle where you’re chasing validation from your peers. Without a social media account, this pressure dissolves, and you’ll feel lighter and more at ease.
Better Mental Health
A study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology shows a link between loneliness, depression, and social media use. The truth is, you can’t always choose what content you’re exposed to on social media. Some of this content may be triggering, disturbing, or negatively affect your mental health. You can regain more control of what you consume by deleting your accounts and consuming content more carefully and intentionally.
Healthier Body Image
Another important concern is body image issues that result from constantly seeing filtered bodies and faces on social media. Young girls are especially negatively impacted by this, as the digitally perfected bodies and faces create unrealistic standards that no human body can live up to. On the other hand, by refusing exposure to this type of content, we can enjoy a healthier relationship with our own bodies.
More Meaningful Relationships
With less time spent superficially interacting with people you don’t care about online, you have more time and emotional bandwidth to invest in your closest relationships. As such, your connections can become more enriched, vulnerable, and supportive.
Healthier Routines
Healthy evening and morning routines are easier with a digital detox. For instance, the blue light from screens can cause hormonal disruption and lead to poor sleep, in addition to the information overload at such a vulnerable state right before sleep. In the morning, scrolling through a random feed or long list of unread messages can lead to feeling overwhelmed or anxious before starting the day.
Increased Productivity
The onslaught of notifications and the mental load of unanswered messages can disrupt our attention from an important task before us. By quitting social media, as a result of fewer distractions and more free time, you’ll feel more productive and get work done faster or more easily.
Increased Creativity
Another wonderful benefit of quitting social media is an increase in creativity. You might feel more inspired as your energy is no longer consumed by self-comparison, anxiety, or the pressure to perform.
How to Quit Social Media (or Take a Break)
If you'd like to see what life is like without the constant social media pressure, give this a try!
S.K. Lumen
S.K. Lumen is a writer, artist and blogger who is passionate about helping women become their best selves. Her writing is educational, empowering and uplifting, and includes topics like personal development, self-care, self-love, mental health, wellness and spirituality.