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Social Media Detox

Why you should consider taking a break—temporarily or not—from social media.

By Jessica RodriguezPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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I used to think, ‘If you don’t have social media, you’re missing out’ but I was put in a situation where I thought social media was the only way out and when I finally decided to delete my Instagram account life was… easier, stress-free, and peaceful. Hopefully, after reading my story you can see how refreshing it is to not worry about not checking your social media accounts immediately after you wake up and you'll try it out too.

The beginning of last year was pretty stressful. I was put in situations where it felt like everything I thought I knew, I didn’t. One of my friends decided to delete their Instagram to prevent further problems, and this gave me a little confidence to do it too since she was so much happier, but it was just a thought. But, without getting into details I put myself in a situation that hurt someone else—mind you, this was happening through Instagram—and I felt terrible about it. I was so anxious and I didn’t know what to do. This situation made me remember what I thought of doing a couple of weeks back, deleting my account. The only solution I thought of was to 'punish' my self by deactivating my Instagram. Now, I’m well aware that I’ve built a lot of suspense for me to tell you that I was contemplating deleting my Instagram account however, it was a big deal for me because I’ve had the same account since 2013, I went through all of those awkward phases and Instagram was the one social media account that I used EVERYDAY, so it would mean I’d have to go from checking Instagram 20 times a day to not checking it at all and that terrified me. Change terrified me. But, after thinking about it for 10 minutes, I'm not even joking, I decided to delete my account. I actually did it. It was weird at first, I found my self being more bored more frequently whenever I realized I couldn't scroll through my explore page after finishing my work or to just stalk people for the fun of it, but eventually, I got used to it.

Flash forward one year and I’m doing great. It feels like I’ve lifted a stressor from my life that I really didn’t need to be stressing about in the first place. I get my work done quicker and don't feel as lazy as I used to, knowing I won't have to feel 'out of the loop' for not checking my friends' Instagram stories every 30 minutes. The pressures of social media, no, Instagram alone made me feel that if I didn’t check it at least once before 10 am I was 'missing out' and made me feel ‘trapped’ and stressed me out subconsciously. I had an addiction and to overcome something that once controlled me makes me feel powerful and—as cliche as it may sound—like I can do anything I put my mind to.

Sometimes it takes baby steps to take control of your life, all you have to do is take that first step. It feels nice to look at life in a different way and appreciate it without posting about that pretty sunset I saw on my way home from work, my latte or what I made for lunch that day. I would recommend deleting a social media account, one you use the most, and see how it feels to not use it for a month, and who knows… maybe you’ll like it. Sometimes change is good, but all have you to do is have the right mindset to truly appreciate that change.

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About the Creator

Jessica Rodriguez

Embarrassing moments tell for some great stories

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