Switch Off!

Good Reasons to Take a Social Media Break

It's been estimated that more than 200 million people around the world may have an
addiction to social media and the internet.
But even if you don't think you have that addiction, taking a break may be a good idea.
According to data from 2022, we spend an average of almost two and a half hours per day
using social media apps like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
And experts say that having a break — perhaps of a week, a month, or even longer —
could have a lot of benefits for our physical and mental health.
A number of studies have linked social media use to increased anxiety, stress and
depression — often because we compare ourselves to others, and worry that we're not
doing as well as they are.
Those feelings may also arrive if we see a lot of bad news on social media.
It has also been linked to insomnia: social media never sleeps, so we may spend our
nights checking to see what has been posted, or wake up and check it right away in the
morning.
And of course, not getting enough sleep can affect our mental and physical health.
Taking away the apps for a short time might help us to focus, to spend more time with
family and friends, or to spend more time outside.
This could also help to prevent an addiction to social media.
But if you're not quite ready to take a break, one idea is to set a social media time limit,
to begin reducing how long you spend on these apps each day.