Benefits of social media breaks

Every once in a while, it is important to take time away from social media. Spending too much time scrolling through Instagram and other social media apps has been proven to fuel anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. The benefits of taking time away to reset yourself are worth deleting social media for. 

Personally, I have taken many social media breaks. In every situation, I always find more time to work on homework, go for a run, and spend time with friends and family. The average American teen spends almost nine hours a day on social media, according to socialmediatoday.com. That’s an entire night’s sleep…. during daylight hours! Without distracting apps like Instagram and Snapchat, those hours spent on your phone will decrease and you’ll have time for many more activities and worthwhile projects. 

Also, as mentioned previously, taking a break from social media helps tremendously with your mental health. Many people, especially young girls, find themselves comparing their bodies, faces, and more to the people on social media.  This can lead to depression and anxiety. Not constantly seeing unrealistic body standards has a positive effect on your own self-image. In addition, apps like Snapchat force you to look at your face every waking moment while sending pictures to friends, allowing yourself to constantly overanalyze and criticize your “flaws”. Without apps like these, you can take a break from the negative observations you make about yourself throughout the day. 

There is also a freeing feeling related to deleting social media. Gone are the impossible expectations, hurtful messages and fake relationships. Without social media, the pressure that is there unknowingly is taken off your shoulders. It is a breath of fresh air. You also can better connect with people in your real life, and ask yourself what relationships are worth pursuing. 

There are many advantages from taking a social media break, and as someone who has personally done it multiple times, I can’t stress enough the importance of taking time away for yourself and your life. If it seems like a hard thing to do, start off by only getting rid of it for a couple of days. Then move on to weeks or months, or however long you wish. Delete social media and take a break!