You know yourself better than anyone else. You're probably reading this on a phone, desktop, or tablet device. These days, people have a reliance on technology that I couldn't even imagine 14 years ago. We are hardwired to our devices and this won't change anytime soon. We eat, breathe, and sleep with our smartphones in hand. The smartphones not being able to leave people's hands is not just because they want to text and call. The smartphones not being able to leave people's hands is largely due to social media.

We go back and forth among apps, from Twitter to Facebook to Snapchat to Instagram to LinkedIn to Google+ to WhatsApp. Social media is weird in that it lets you instantly share information, ideas, interests (career interests), and essentially yourself. In the palm of your hand is someone's life that they choose to publicly share. Social media dictates how we connect with organizations, communities, and individuals. The whole social media in the palm of your hand thing makes it seem impossible to disconnect. However, nothing's impossible.

The social media cleanse is something you can consider, if you need to disconnect. Personally, I do not see any reason to take a detox anytime soon but it is always a good idea to get your head out of your phone. It is crazy how much we use social media on a daily basis. If you are an iPhone user, you can see the breakdown of applications used by checking your battery usage. It is truly more important to pay attention to what is going on in the real world. It can be hard to remember just how much we use these sites and apps actually to be social. If you want to disconnect, you need to understand you will be missing crucial information.

People use social media to be social whether it's sharing a meme on Instagram or inviting friends to an event via Facebook; you wouldn't want to miss the Facebook invite. By breaking away from social media, you can remember what life was like before Instagram and Snapchat notifications plastered your phone screen. Social media is instantly gratifying, and you may not want that. You can delete the applications off your phone and take a break if needed. A social media detox may be beneficial for some, and if I ever find it necessary for myself, I will not hesitate. There are pros and cons, and as I said before, you know yourself best.

Social media should not control your life. A friend recently posted on his Instagram story that "Instagram is toxic" and that he'll be taking a break. By him taking a break, it really opened my eyes as to how social media makes everyone feel. Some people like Instagram, and other people like my friend can happily live without it. I was still able to see him in person and to call and text. A social media detox can be beneficial. Maybe this summer, you'd like to see yourself use less social media. Delete the application off your smartphone, turn off your tablet, or close the Internet window on your computer. Maybe a social media cleanse is needed -- you be the judge.