To keep up with change, many companies are embracing technology and innovation, and digital platforms are one of the key tools in this transformation. One of the best ways to help businesses to thrive is by taking full advantage of the power of social media, it has helped numerous industries to connect to the audience, promote products and services, and strengthen their branding reputation. But in every benefit comes another different outcome. As we take too much spending on the digital world, we sometimes forget to connect with reality. We are too busy paying attention to the digital version of our lives that we forget to think about the real world.
Step back whenever your scrolls may feel like you are less compared to other people on social media, this is a possible cause of “comparisonitis” or the persistent negative self-talk due to envy or insecurity. Don’t give yourself an unnecessary amount of screen time to absorb negative news or “doomscrolling”, it will just continuously dismay you. Take a break from constantly checking your phone in public places, if you feel like your fingers are twitching or there is an imaginative vibration in your pockets, maybe it’s time for a reset.
As we took an effort for this special project, our Marketing Team tried to disconnect from social media for 21 days.
At first, it was hard for our team to restrain from social media as we work directly with these platforms for BusinessTrends. We started the detox by avoiding our personal accounts and only using our BusinessTrends accounts and pages, we will only open the platforms to answer inquiries and gather data for internal reporting. Last month, we temporarily deactivated our accounts and tried to connect again with nature and reality.
The first week was the hardest. Since we are used to getting up every morning by opening our social media accounts, it was like a new sensation for us to wake up at sunrise with only a cup of coffee, no Facebook news feed, Instagram feed, or any digital feeds at all. We interacted with our family and co-workers by talking to them personally and asking them about their lives. For the first time in a long time, we haven’t shared anything from our social media accounts. The first week is when we are longing for that accustomed reaction of our bodies when we use social media.
We finally got used to it by the second week. This is where we woke up without the need of checking our phones first thing in the morning. As our Marketing Team was known for being book enthusiasts, we’ve read more books in a week than we ever had during our social media detox. One paperback became two and three, with the genres we explored to read, and more knowledge it has printed on us. We began to discover new hobbies, exercised, explored different meal plans and lived the best out of our real world. This cycle continued until the last week, we enjoyed our time off of the virtual world and learned the importance of getting along with nature and people. We even continued the offline status after 21 days.
It’s always best to take things with moderation, discipline, and control. Since we have experienced the social media detox, we are now aware of when to stop and control our screen time, it lessens the distractions around our environment as we find our inner peace and do more important things with our time. Our sleeping routine became better, woke up feeling good about ourselves without the constant distraction of scrolling and browsing. As we slept earlier and better, we woke up re-energized and healthy-looking. Our self-satisfaction and contentment in life became a stronger foundation for us as better individuals. We have come to realize that comparing our lives to what other people show off has a negative effect on us, we have different stories to tell, and a story of one is different from ours.
Sources:
Detox Your Doomscrolling: 9 Benefits of Starting a Social Media Cleanse
https://greatist.com/health/social-media-cleanse#what-is-it
The mental health benefits of a social media detox
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/blog/the-mental-health-benefits-of-a-social-media-detox/
How to Stop Doomscrolling Every Time You Go Online
Chronic Low Self-Esteem? It Could Be an Inferiority Complex
https://greatist.com/health/inferiority-complex#symptoms
Is There a Link Between ADHD and Dopamine?