Spending hours on social media is not exactly part of a healthy lifestyle. I am someone who quickly becomes annoyed when my phone buzzes too often and I get too many messages. Replying can take really long, and gets in the way of things that I actually want to do like write blog posts about living a healthy lifestyle or just watch TV and focus on what is going on there.
It is especially annoying when I am in conversation, and I keep getting messages. Now, I do love technology and the way that it helps us connect, but I clearly see how it can interfere with a healthy lifestyle and how it is affecting the mental health of people all around the world.
Millennials and young people nowadays are more anxious and depressed, suicide rates are going up, and more people are talking about it and making being mentally healthy a focus of their lifestyle. I think that technology and social media has a lot to do with it. Young people nowadays do not only face the bullies at school, but they go home and face the bullies online too.
We spend hours on social media looking at other people who only put the best parts of their lives online and portray elaborate lifestyles. You only see the highlights, and it can make you feel like you are not good enough, especially if they have something and are flaunting something that you really want, even if it is just a partner or a child.
It is a lot easier to feel upset or sad about certain things when you are not reminded about them often, and it is easy to go on social media and to look at other people’s bodies, the way they look, and their lifestyles and not feel good enough, or to look at the quality of their Instagram posts and how professional they look.
If the things that you post online do not get as many likes as you want, it can make you feel bad about yourself. It can make you feel rejected by the world, which can be a very painful experience, and what I found is that taking breaks from technology has been very helpful for my own mental health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Sometimes, I feel bad because I feel like I should be posting more on social media, but then I think: “but I’m feeling so good not being on social media and not being reminded all the time that I’m not as lean as some of the other people and my skin is not as clear.”
I do not even know if those people look that way because Photoshop is very popular. Taking a break from social media and from going online has been very helpful for me in terms of being mentally healthy. Even just not going on social media, but still using technology and rather using that time to write articles about living a healthy lifestyle and to do something that is productive, that is good, and that can help the world instead of wasting that time comparing myself to others is far better.
Use the time to do something that will advance you in life, and that will get you closer to your goals or that will bring you happiness than waste time on social media. You can still post online, but just also do other things and live in reality and not the online version of reality.
I don’t know where technology is going in the future, and I have a feeling it’s going to become worse. You have to find strategies to remain mentally sane and to put your health and your mental health first, because you are worth it and you only have one life.
You want to enjoy everything that life has to offer, and you don’t want to live your life through a screen. Aim for a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
You can just take a social media break instead of a complete technology break if you have to do social media for your business. Maybe schedule it… later.com is brilliant for that. You can spend one or two days a month scheduling your social media posts. And then for the rest of the month, you can do other things that you know are way better for being mentally healthy and living a balanced lifestyle.
You can take a complete technology break while you’re on holiday, and just take a digital camera. If you want to take photos with your phone, you can turn off your data or put your phone on aeroplane mode, so people cannot really bother you.
Enjoy everything that life has to offer and maybe enjoy some peace and quiet. Being in the quiet can help you do some introspection and reflection and thinking, and get some clarity on things that may be stressing you out.
Nature can be very stress-relieving. Spend time with your family, talk to people, go out for coffee with someone, and do not spend half the time being on your phone. You only get one life, and not feeling connected to people can make you feel more depressed, and can increase the chances of you having addictions and addictive behaviours.
Even though we are technically more connected than we have ever been before thanks to social media, people aren’t feeling as connected, and loneliness is also increasing. Therefore, taking a technology break and making one-on-one interactions with people a priority, as well as face-to-face interactions can be one of the most important things that you can do for your mental health and for your overall health.
Having healthy relationships with people has been associated with an increase in longevity, so you will actually live longer. I do recommend taking a social media break or technology break, whether it is for one day, or just half a day that you are stepping away from your phone. You can leave your phone in the other room, so that you are not constantly bombarded by messages and notifications.
I highly recommend that you do this. Technology can be fun and can be powerful, but also take some time away from social media or technology regularly, and you will be very grateful for the improvement in your mental health.
