Hello hello from beautiful España!
Here is a picture of me in Salamanca to prove that I have not completely fallen off the face of the earth.
It is always a different experience when I take a break from social media - and when I'm travelling, it's an incredible blessing. I am seeing, listening, tasting and getting so much more out of every new experience. Even the idle "boring" moments are enjoyable when I am watching everyone and everything. The way people talk, smile, laugh, yell… I love it.
Sometimes I find that taking breaks from social media can be so necessary but also so difficult. I delete my instagram only to download it in a week and feel bad that I needed it. Other times? I don't even notice that I'm not online anymore.
Especially for me, it's a strange balance to make because social media has had such a positive impact on my life. It's the only way I am able to share my workouts and routines with family, friends and followers around the world. Even more, it allows me to keep up with my favorite people, find new inspiration and ideas to grow my creativity. When we're using it to enhance our connections or to develop our skills, knowledge and ideas, the internet can be a beautiful place to be. But when we lose our autonomy and control over these things, they really can take over our lives and habits without us realizing. What happens when instead of using social media, it's using us?
We need to remember that most of these sites are designed to be addictive. The more time you spend on your phone, the more ads you see and the more money they make. The more time we spend connected, the higher our risk of becoming dependent on these platforms for whatever reason.
By social media, I'm mostly talking about sites like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. However, I think most of what I am about to say can be applied to general screen time (hours you spend looking at a screen). Which leads me into reason number 1 for limiting screentime.
1. Your physical health
There is a few harmful things you can physically notice when you overuse your phone or electronic device. One of these, is your posture. As you're reading this, your neck is probably tilted downwards, your chest curved inwards and your shoulders slightly slumped. This is how most of us look when we are using our phones and laptops. If you are a student or work a desk job, you are likely to be sat in this position for long amounts of time as well.
We get so used to this posture that even when we are walking or exercising, it is the posture that dominates. You can imagine why this isn't the best for your body. If you are often in the same position, it means the same muscles are always stretched and the same muscles are always tense. Muscles need breaks! And our body needs balance. So after sitting in the same position reading or studying for 2 hours, sitting there scrolling through social media for another 15 minutes isn't really a break.
There's lots of different findings on why a slouched posture is bad for our physical health - but I believe it can also damage our mental health. When I was doing the Daily Discipline Challenge last month, one of my challenges was to maintain proper posture for 24 hours. I was shocked to see the difference it made in my day, how much more confident I felt and how much more motivated I was to get work done or be active. I decided to try to do it everyday. Now, whenever I sit down to do work, I remind myself of my posture and it usually helps me stay alert, attentive and engaged.
Another disadvantage of too much screen time is increased blue light exposure. Blue light affects our circadian rhythm, hormones and mood. You may have observed this affect more apparently in your sleeping habits. The blue light emitted from our screens reach our brains, and affects melatonin release (the hormone that makes you sleepy). Because of this, after going on your phone or laptop for a while, you have trouble falling asleep. Even if you manage to fall asleep, research has shown that the quality of our sleep can be a lot worse after more exposure to blue light. On top of this, some research has found links between increased exposure to blue light and eye health as well as cancer. Although I don't believe the link is strong enough to suggest we should never look at a screen, it is strong enough to suggest that we limit screentime.
2. Being present
I mentioned in the intro that I am seeing and experiencing more without my phone and notifications distracting me. I know it goes without saying that without social media, we have more time to be present and make memories. However, if you're too used to being online, it can even rob of you of enjoyment when you're offline.
The way the internet is designed allows us to receive instant gratification at every click. We no longer have to flip through pages or walk to the nearest library to answer a question - we can just Google it. We don't have to stand in cues and pay money to see a movie, we can just click through videos on YouTube - and we don't even have to chose what we want to watch because an application choses for us.
Our patience and appreciation for the small things isn’t really there anymore. The experiences that we were content with just aren't enough because, there is a better, bigger, cheaper option online.
Oncemore, we get so used to flicking through pages of information (and even people!) so much that even in real life, we find we can not focus or concentrate on a conversation or a task for long enough. If we overdo it, I really do think these habits can change the way our brains work and rob us of getting the most out of life. Most things that are essential for a happy life - like a healthy lifestyle, relationships, work - require our attention, commitment and perserverance to grow and bear fruit. What happens when those abilities are constantly being degraded by our time online?
3. Solitude
We know from science and experience that even for the most extroverted person, solitude is essential.
We need that time to absorb, contemplate and think for ourselves. To pursue hobbies or interests and immerse ourselves in something we truly love. Many creative processes take place when we are alone. It is when we can separate our voice and litsen to ourselves and our bodies to understand what we need.
In his book Solitude: A Return to Self, psychiatrist Anthony Storr describes solitude as time spent alone without the influence of another mind. This definition implies something scary: we are never really alone. We are always being influenced by someone else's thoughts, pictures, life, ideas or message. Even in our "me time" we are not really spending time with ourselves if we are always online. In fact, the idea of solitude is probably scary for some of us because it is so foreign. But in a lot of ways, it is necessary.
It's even possible that lack of solitude can increase anxiety and stress. If we're always being told what to think and what to do, we panic in a situation where we have to make big decisions or face life events all on our own. That's why I believe especially now, it is more necessary than ever to create space for moments of solitude - without the constant distraction of our phones buzzing.
Here are three ways to do just that
1. Take breaks
Leave your phone in your room if you don't need it. Delete your social media applications for a week! Or a month! Or a year!
If you're a regular user, your brain will definitely try to convince you this is a bad idea. What if its an emergency and someone needs me? What if I miss out? It will be hard to fight these thoughts at first. But remind yourself that there was a time when people lived with no social media and no one died because they missed a tweet. Challenge your thoughts with the truth: would someone really send you a direct message on Instagram in the case of an emergency? No they wouldn't: they would call. All the people who would need you in an emergency proably have your number.
How long your break is really depends on you. More specifically it depends on what is reasonable and what you need. Ask yourself: how is social media adding (or taking) from my life right now? If you think that it is not adding a lot to your day, it may be best to try one week without it to see. You'd be surprised at what happens. You may end up deciding to go without it for a longer time.
I find this helpful when I know I am going to be involved in something challenging or time-consuming in real life. For example, when I am in school and have finals - all the social media is off my phone for 1 month.
2. Limit daily usage
I understand that in lots of ways, social media adds to our lives and for some of us it may not even be possible to not be on our scrreens. Because of this, I recommend limiting daily usage when you are using social meda.
There are two ways you can do this. One is limiting the time frame you are online for a day. For example: no internet past 6 pm and not before 9am (3-4 hours before and after sleep). You can always adjust this to fit your sleeping schedule. Sometimes, when I am really busy, I go further and narrow it down to only 1 hour online per day between 5-6.
The second method is to limit the number of hours you spend online. I personally don’t find this method very helpful and it can be more work to track the time you are spending on each site. Another way to limit daily use is by deleting all social media apps from your phone for a while and only logging in when you need to on a computer.
3. Stay engaged in something in the real world!
I mentioned that when I'm travelling, quitting social media is so easy and a blessing. I am so occupied that I am not tempted to reach for my phone. That's why I recommend always keeping yourself excited with things you enjoy doing. Start working on something new, join a group or club, take on a challenging commitment or decide to immerse yourself completely in one you already have. Give your 100% to things in your daily life instead of draining your battery plugged to your phone.
Comentarios