Why I Left Social Media & Why I Might Come Back
Introduction
If you follow me on any of my social media accounts, you may have noticed that I haven’t been very active recently. One reason for that is because I’ve been all out of spoons, but the other is way more important and what I’m talking about today. More and more people, articles, and studies are beginning to speak up about the harm that social media is causing. I’m not talking about little issues that will be easy to take care of, but problems so big that we are now in need of technology policy reform. Oops! I first learned about it as part of my Sociology of Gender class and then it kept on coming up. It got to the point that there was too much information for me to ignore, so I decided to go cold turkey.
What Problems is Social Media Causing?
- Mass Manipulation That is Leading to Extreme Polarization
Did you know that the algorithms used by Google and social media platforms collect information on you with the intent of making you stay longer on their product so they can make more money? If you’re thinking that this has no correlation to polarization, here’s where you’re wrong. They use this information to choose which ads, search results, and posts/videos to show you. If you’re really interested in news with a liberal spin, it will only show you news with a liberal spin until it gets so extreme that someone with moderate beliefs sounds like a demon. As a side effect, it convinces you that everyone shares your exact same beliefs when that couldn’t be farther from the truth. If you tend to read more conservative news, this will slowly but surely take you down so far to the right that Pizzagate seems realistic. This is a huge part of the reason why it feels like no one can talk to each other anymore. I noticed Twitter was doing this to me and, at the time, I didn’t know how to describe it but I thought it was really weird. So, I left. - Decreased Quality of Life
I think most of us reading this have struggled with comparison at one point in our lives. Well, social media gives us the option to compare ourselves with steroids for added comparison. Basically, what I mean is everyone shows the best parts of their life. If we consciously or subconsciously believe that all of our lives should be filled with excitement and adventure everyday, we are going to feel very unfulfilled and disappointed with the way our life is going.
Additionally, social media has been shown to lower self-esteem. Who wants that kind of thing ruining their lives? - Less Creativity and Productivity
This one is just logical, but I’m sure that there have also been studies published about it, too. If you’re on social media all the time, you’re obviously not going to be as productive as you could be without it. Plus, any time spent on social media is time that you could be using to create masterpieces! - Is Your News Source Reliable?
People who share news and information on social media are not held to the same standards as journalists and news organizations. For example, a celebrity can say that the sky is purple without any proof, share it with millions of followers (who then go out and share it), and now half the world believes the sky is purple. If only they looked up from their phone screen, they would know the truth. - Social Media Addiction
Yes, this is a real thing. There is even a scale that is used to assess whether or not you are addicted to social media (it began with facebook but is now used with social media in general). For most people, social media use does not fall into the range of addiction, but (from what I can tell) you should consider a detox if you are using it as a crutch or need it to function.
This is not a complete list of problems caused by social media, but it is definitely a start. Of course, there are a lot of positives associated with social media, too. However, based on this one list alone, I still feel confident that the negatives outweigh the positives.
Developing a Healthier Relationship With Social Media
The Center for Humane Technology has a great list of suggestions for people just starting out this process that I’d highly recommend everyone implement. One step I’d like to draw attention to is turning off social media notifications. You know, the ones that inform you your friend is now on Instagram or so and so just posted a new video or whatshername just liked your photo. This will not only help you decrease he time you spend on social media, but also declutter your notifications page of junk alerts. That way your phone only vibrates when it’s important.
If you can, you should definitely try taking a break from all social media for a week just to see how you feel at the end and if there are any changes you should make in your life. Another thing I’d suggest is that you stop looking at your phone two hours before your go to bed. I’ve tried it a couple of times and it actually makes a difference in the quality of your sleep. Instead of looking at your phone before you go to bed, try cleaning, reading a physical book, listening to a podcast or audiobook, doing meal prep, taking a shower, painting a color by numbers, meditating, doing yoga or physical therapy, or journaling to reflect on your day.
Why I’m Considering Returning to Social Media
I won’t be using all of the social medias I used to (*cough cough* Twitter), nor will I be on it as long as I used to (*cough cough* Pinterest), but social media is extremely important for staying in contact with friends and family I no longer live near and connecting with new people who are in need of hope. Social media has the power to be extremely harmful in my life, but if I control the way I use it and set guidelines for myself I can post responsibly without it taking a toll on my mental or physical health.
There are two reasons why I’m thinking about coming back to social media. The first is that I’ve met one of my closest friends on Instagram and I want to be able to stay in touch with her and all of the others I’ve connected with over the years.
The second reason is a lot more important, as a convincing factor at least. Social media is a way I can easily spread awareness to disability issues, gender and sexuality issues, Christianity issues, and all the other issues I could ever want to bring up. Through social media, I can build community, lift spirits, share my work, and a ton of other amazing things. There are definitely negative to using social media, but as of now it is almost necessary for me to establish myself on and connect with others.
Conclusion
With all that said, there is no perfect answer out there for any of us. I want to keep on writing and encouraging you in your life and spreading awareness to my kind of life. I want to also focus on my health and take care of myself effectively. I want to continue building this beautiful community and to do that I need to use social media. I am working on finding a balance that works for me. I am open to any suggestions, though. At some point soon, I will be making a return to Instagram three days a week. I’m not sure when, exactly what it will look like, or how I’ll be picture-taking and captioning, but it’s gonna happen.
P.S. This post is a tad on the rough side because I currently don’t have access to my laptop and had to finish writing it on my iPad. The good news is that I should be getting my laptop back this week!
