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Throughout quarantine, I found myself frustrated with the absurd amount of time I spent on social media. Contrary to its name, social media made me have a seemingly anti-social lifestyle. 

In the pandemic’s early months, my daily screen time amounted to an upwards of seven hours on TikTok, two hours on Instagram and additional time on other mainstream media platforms. Spending all this time on social media was causing me to spend less time in the other, arguably more important parts of my life. When I stopped using such media, I saw an immediate improvement in my mental health.

The purposeful avoidance of social media, referred to as a social media detox, is reported to have beneficial, stress-relieving effects on those who practice it.

The social isolation of the pandemic led me to mindlessly scroll through social media in search of respite from loneliness. But every time I used it, I was left with a feeling of amplified anxiety and social ineptness. Aside from breeding a sedentary lifestyle, social media isn’t a substitute for the social interaction I experienced before lockdown. Evidently, trying to fill the need for social interaction with social media leads to more harm than good.

U.S. adults reported an increased amount of time spent social media during the pandemic. This comes parallel to a rise in mental health illnesses commonly related to social isolation. 

Yet, we still spend hours on our phones each day. Increased social media usage is attributed to worsened mental health through increased levels of depression and anxiety. Unplugging from technology can become a simple yet effective form of self care.

Recent studies suggest the average U.S. college student spends an average of 8 to 10 hours of their day looking at a screen. Social media users spend hours in sedentary positions by staring at a screen. In a physical sense, limiting screen time directly changes how you spend their time during the day. 

For myself, going a full day without hours of TikTok and Instagram freed up time to focus on other activities. I immediately noticed a direct increase in my own productivity. Rather than distracting myself from the loneliness of the pandemic for hours on end, I could focus on more fulfilling activities such as journaling and working out. 

But fully removing yourself from social media is nearly impossible for our generation. After each detox, I’d inevitably find myself back in the place I started: mindlessly scrolling through my monotonous feed. 

This is why it can be important to remind yourself to use social media with intention instead of compulsion. Detoxing from social media can encourage the deliberate limiting of screen time. However, productive time management is secondary to the real mental health benefits of taking a break from social media.

Limiting social media usage can have real effects on how your brain works, as well as its levels of fatigue and stress related illnesses. 

Every time a person goes on social media, their brain releases dopamine, rewarding them for the action. Social media wires the brain to desire continuous, compulsive scrolling. If not used with intention, social media can become addictive. Additionally, such compulsive use is directly linked to decreases in mental health. Taking the time to check this compulsion can relieve unnecessary stress.

Limited social media use, coupled with the subsequent increase in free time, has allowed me to focus on becoming more productive. But I still have never fully detached myself from my online footprint. Social media has anchored itself in modern society. Eliminating it completely from your own routine is unrealistic, but lowering daily screen time may have better and lasting effects on your health. 
Harrison Vogt is a sophomore environment sustainability policy and communication and rhetorical studies dual major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at [email protected]. He can be followed on Twitter at @VogtHarrison.

Published on March 28, 2021 at 9:49 pm