Signs You Should Take a Social Media Break
By Kristina Drendel
Social media has completely revolutionized our lives. It’s made keeping in touch with coworkers, family, and friends easier than ever and even can help with finding jobs or other things you may be looking for. However, social media is far from perfect. Many people don’t realize how much time they spend scrolling through feeds and, as a result, they may not realize when it takes a toll on their mental health. I personally decided to delete all my social media a little while back, but permanently deleting social media may not be feasible for everyone. In this case, taking a social media break is a perfect happy medium. Think it might be time for a break? Here are some signs that you should temporarily sign off of social media.
You can’t stop comparing yourself to others. Although comparing ourselves is oftentimes just a part of human nature, there is also a line where comparing goes too far. If you constantly feel bad about yourself, wishing you had the Instagram model’s body or your best friend’s vacation home, or even if you just feel like you should be further in your career or personal/romantic life, it’s time for a break.
Your screen time is longer than you want it to be. Let’s be real here, social media is addicting. Did you mean to only spend five minutes scrolling and suddenly you’re an hour deep into endless cat pictures? Maybe it’s time you check exactly how long you spend on social media every day. Fortunately, most smartphones have a feature that allows you to see how many minutes (or hours) you spend on different apps every day. If you feel like you’re spending too much time on social media and aren’t sure how to decrease your screen time, consider taking a break.
You feel overwhelmed with the world. Social media is a great way to find out important news about everything going on in the world. Unfortunately, sometimes everything can seem a bit overwhelming and can cause you to feel lost or even depressed. If this applies to you, step back from social media and spend some time just focusing on self-care.
And finally, your mental health is currently not great. This goes hand in hand with the previous sign, but this one is more a general sense. You may not necessarily feel overwhelmed, but that doesn’t mean that your mental health is as good as it should be. Check in with yourself. If you start to notice yourself feeling anxious or depressed, consider taking a break and reaching out for help.
Edited by Morgan Mitchell