7 Signs You Need A Break From Social Media

Social media has taken over the lives of many among us, and for some, the nature of their job has made social media an inseparable part of their lives. Social media, as much as it helps us stay connected and updated with what is happening around us, still has its drawbacks. 

 

As we spend more time on social media, we come across all types of news good ones and distressing ones. As you scroll, you find a post about a friend who just got engaged, another who landed their dream job, and then a happy couple touring the world. While you can be feeling genuinely happy for seeing good things happening to your dear friends, it is part of human nature to feel a bit down if you are not as moving forward as everyone else around you. That feeling of being behind the line and not as accomplished triggers stress, depression, and insecurity.

 

Assessing the time you spend on social media and its effect on you, the question is how strong is your urge to constantly grab your phone? And how much is social media keeping you isolated from the world around you? The answers to this question and some other signs will determine how much you need a break from social media.

 

1. You never put down your phone.

No matter where you are or what you are doing, you find it hard to resist the urge to grab your phone and keep scrolling. Even worse, you feel anxious when you’ve been away from social media for a while because you don’t want to miss seeing what others have been doing.

 

2. You scroll unconsciously.

You treat social media as the first and best resort to entertain yourself whenever you are bored. You also find yourself scrolling endlessly only to find out later that you have wasted so many hours online.

 

3. You care about what you’ll post more than living in the moment.

You start making vacation plans and pick an outing destination based on what will serve your feed better and get you some good pictures. In the middle of a party or a trip, you get obsessed with capturing the perfect photo or posting. You are basically more invested in what to post and when, more than enjoying the activity itself. 

 

4. You start making a lot of comparisons.

Constant scrolling has made you dissatisfied with your life and you begin to question your relationship status, your job, the house you live in, everything. Basically, because you think everyone is having it better than you. 

 

5. You check it first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

The first thing you open your eye to in the morning is grabbing your phone to check your Instagram or Facebook, and at night that’s the last thing you do while in bed, mindless scrolling. This habit has proven to cause a lot of stress and anxiety.

 

6. Your productivity is affected.

You come to realize that the day slips by without having anything done from what you planned to do. You notice that you procrastinate more often and that you are less productive at work.

 

7. You have trouble concentrating.

You experience a lack of focus and you get distracted very easily. It is proven that spending so much time on social media affects your attention span and makes you unable to concentrate.