How to Take a Break from Social Media and Why It’s Important

What would be your mental health in a world without social media? Difficult to even imagine, right? Many of us are so busy with our social media accounts that it's hard to remember what we did before the feed. Online communications have various benefits, but how should we balance the fuss of inputs from family, friends, and brands striving for our attention?

Your mental health is more important than your Facebook aesthetics. So what should you do instead of scrolling social media too much? The beautiful thing in the world is your oyster! When you take a break from the mobile screen, you can do various activities. Once you find why you're feeling the urge to use social media, you can redirect this feeling. In this article, you will learn the benefits of stepping away from social media and ways to tweak your feed for your mental health.

Why it’s Important to Take a Break from Social Media

If you find that social media is triggering one or more of the following factors, taking a break from social media accounts can be helpful for you:

Stress: Social media can trigger stress in several ways. Whether it’s the pressure of posting regularly or the disappointment of not getting positive feedback on your post, social media can cause us to feel stress. Social media platforms are also a primary news source that can negatively affect your mental well-being.

Lack of Focus on Important Tasks: Scrolling social media feed is typical, but wasting hours of your valuable time watching videos or linking posts is not good. It can affect your productivity at the workplace or school. If you're constantly missing deadlines, late to appointments, and unable to get all the items on your to-do list, you may be spending too much time on social media, and you need to limit it.

Constantly Distracted: Instead of being mentally present at a place, you often find yourself scrolling the feed and checking notifications you receive, despite enjoying the company of people or doing another activity. Too much use of social media accounts can disconnect you from the rest of the world.

Ways to Stepping Away from Social Media

If You Use Social Media to Relax

If you use your phone when you have a little downtime, consider these options:

Take a walk outside.
Listen to some music.
Try doodling or crafting.
Play with a pet.
Read a book.
Set the mood with candles.
Try yoga or meditation.
Drink a soothing beverage like hot chocolate or tea
Look at old pictures.
Bake something delicious.

If You Use Social Media to Communicate with Others

If you find yourself using social media to connect with your friends, family, or others and the desire to check your feed increases, try the following activities instead:

Call a family member or friend.
Invite them for dinner or lunch.
Bake something and offer it to your fellows, lingering to chat when you deliver it.
Arrange a weekend brunch or go shopping with friends.
Join a community group, like church, club, or nonprofit.
Practice yoga or other meditation techniques.
Volunteer at a local food bank or other organization.

If You Use Social Media for Entertainment

Instead of short videos and memes stuff, go for:

Some live music.
Try painting.
Learn an instrument.
Take a dance class.
Visit a local museum.
Try gardening.
Listen to the podcast.

Psychological Treatment for Depression

Psychological treatment or talk therapies are an efficient way to deal with signs of depression. They can help you change your thinking and improve coping skills to handle life's difficulties. They can also help you stay healthy by identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviour.

Some different types of psychological treatment include:

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)
Interpersonal therapy (IPT)
Behaviour therapy

There is considerable power in finding your reasons for logging onto your social media accounts. Once you identify it, you can make a wise choice to meet the needs in another way.

How to Limit Social Media Activities

Taking a break from social media is a great idea, but it's imperative to be realistic about your use. If social media is integral to your life, that's OK. There are several ways to reduce the negative effects and increase the positive impact of social media.

For example, you can unfollow the accounts that negatively impact your mood. You can also remove photos from your social profile that trigger self-judgement. Make sure to delete negative messages or trolling stuff you receive from others. Last but not least, save posts that encourage you to compare yourself to others.

Moreover, you can also set an example for a mindful posting, so others can be inspired by your feed and follow you. For starters, you can:

Skip the filter and show the real you.
Post messy moments pictures, not only the perfect ones.
Leave inspiring comments on others' posts.
Remind others in your social captions that you're a real person with flaws and insecurities like them.
Post about taking breaks from social media.

Final Words

For many of us, social media is a vital part of our lives, for better and worse. We can use it in a way that highlights the positive over the negative, not for us but others. However, social media can be a healthy tool for self-expression and connection with a little conscious use, break, and balance with other activities.