‘I didn’t realise how badly it affected me until I was off it’: should more of us try a social media detox? | Social media

11 comments

  2. I (late 20’s) gave up every platform aside from reddit 4-5 years ago. Feels pretty good! I barely spend any time scrolling through apps on my phone which has helped productivity at home and in work/study massively.

    The downside: I haven’t a fucking clue what my peers are talking about a lot of the time because usually it’s the current big deal on Twitter.

  4. The issue isn’t so much the content of it.

    The issue is that these things are boredom-killers and have filled any possible time-hole in people’s lives for a least the past 10 years.

    Can’t even remember the last time I waited for something or someone and *didn’t* whip out my phone to pass the time.

    I haven’t been bored since I was a teenager and getting rid of social media means finding something else to fill the time.

    *posted while having a shit at work* 😂

  5. I wonder if anyone has the opposite problem – feelings of isolation due to quitting and/or never participating in social media.

  7. Really depends how you use it I think!

    Personally I’m totally confused by people who have e.g. public Instagram profiles where they share their lives with strangers but not to try and promote or sell something – or who let anyone comment or message. Ripe for abuse & stress-causing I think, or otherwise creating unhealthy parasocial relationships.

  8. I only had Facebook before and left during lockdown it was just absolutely crazy and giving I already have anxiety issues it was just adding towards it, it’s nice to just not see negative stuff constantly, I know you’d say that’s reddit as well but I haven’t had seen anything stressing me out on a daily basis

  9. Depends on if you are using it just to keep in contact with a few people who live far away from you or if you are using it to compare your own life to others. Social media is not inherently bad, however companies are purposefully making it addictive to keep us scrolling and that is having the big effect on people’s mental health.

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