Ok, so you are bored or just out of a bad habit you jump on social media once or several times a day. You are hoping to see a few jokes, some positive quotes, and a few happy stories but all of a sudden you are feeling down or depressed. What happened?
You may not realize it but what you saw on social media has a lot to do with it. You may have seen all these people with the perfect bodies, perfect spouses, or lives and plenty of people traveling who appear to be living the happiest life. And even though this may not be true, as people only post what they want you to see and with plenty of filters it may leave you doubting yourself, your life, your career, etc… I was referring to adults, but you can only imagine the effects this has on our teens, who are connected to many other social media apps all day especially during the pandemic when there was nothing else to do.
Just recently I did a social media cleansing experiment, and I did it because I noticed that I was scrolling way too much and going to my social media apps various times a day. So, I stayed off social media for about 34 days. When I returned, I realized how it was making me feel and it was making me anxious & exhausted. I discovered that for me it’s due to information overload. We have way too much information and way too quickly in our hands. This can make you super tired and that is what it was doing for me. I must say I totally removed FB off my phone temporarily and I truly haven’t missed it. I know carry a book with me at all times and I have spent more time reading.
I also decided that I will be taking more breaks from it occasionally throughout the year. I was motivated even more as I learned that I actually have friends that don’t even have any social media apps and they are doing fine. Learn to take digital breaks and you will see the difference it makes in your life, as it did for me. Start a small 30-day digital detox for the New Year and give yourself a mental break.
Rosa Julia Parra
