Social media has its ups and downs. While it can be great for keeping in touch with distant friends and family or connecting with old friends, there are many downsides to it. Here are reasons why you should take a break from social media:
1. It takes away face-to-face contact.
Sure, emojis and gifs can be fun to send back and forth, but talking to someone face-to-face is much more genuine and effective. Often texts can be misread when they should be taken as a joke, and it can cause a lot of problems.
2. It's used as a distraction.
We use social media as an escape from reality, which we are all guilty of. Instead of hiding from our problems and going to social media, we should be confronting what is bothering us and fixing it. Putting it off does no good, and social media can only hide us from our problems for so long.
3. It creates unrealistic goals.
Of course, that huge mansion would be awesome to live in, or traveling to every single country would be fun, but these things just aren't possible sometimes. We see these "goals" on social media which tell us what we are "supposed" to have, instead of us being happy with what we do have. Unless you are some kind of millionaire, these goals are simply unrealistic and if we only look at those and want them, then we will be nothing but unhappy with what we do have.
4. It starts unnecessary drama.
If you are anything like me, you follow those you don't like on social media to see what they are up to and what they are saying. This is where the "subtweets" come in which lead to nothing but drama which isn't needed. Also, with everything happening in politics today, timelines have been filled with arguments left and right between close friends and even family. Social media is tearing us apart and while it can be good to hear others' opinions when we disagree it often leads to fights and hateful words being said.
5. It's a time waster.
Those hours you spend on social media every day can be used doing things way more productive. Instead of scrolling through twitter, you can go for a walk or get lunch with a friend you haven't seen in awhile. Instead of spending forever editing that picture, you could read a book you want to read or pick up a new hobby. There are only so many minutes in a day, so why are we wasting them looking at everyone else's time?
So while social media can be awesome and helpful, it is always good to take a break from it and see what you learn. Trust me, you and your phone battery will thank me.
