Social media detox:how well can you survive without social media?

Over the years,there's been a rise in the number of social media users. 

The first social media site was a website called Six Degrees. It was launched in 1997. It allowed users to create a profile and make friends with other users. From Six Degrees,the internet emerged into the era of instant messaging and blogging.

It's a really huge breakthrough for the inventors of various social media platforms like Facebook,Twitter,Instagram and many others with million of users.

Many have become good friends through social media;some met their significant other here;many got their dream jobs through social media ads and have also met kind people who were thoughtful enough to recommended them for jobs they fit into. A lot of beautiful things have happened through social media.  It has also been a tool for various people to be distracted from the worries of the busy world;they're able to talk to new people about light and trending topics.

However, social media has been able to successfully distract young people from the real life. Many people today have become "unhealthily" addicted to the use of social media. It's a sad reality that many are forgetting who they truly are and trying so hard to copy the lifestyle of strangers. Forgetting that all that glitter are not gold,they are carried away by the unnecessary showoff on social media. It has made many young people feel like a failure as they're unable to level up to the standards of those they admire on social media.

In one way or the other,spending so much time on social media has contributed to the rise in unnecessary comparison leading to depression, anxiety, feeling of loneliness and suicidal thoughts. The standard created online by these "strangers" has made many feel like they're not good enough or doing enough to level up with them. This addiction has made many people neglect their real life responsibilities. Some students prefer to spend ten hours on social media drooling over strangers and seeking validation from them than investing two hours into studying.

    A step towards being free from the claws of this addiction is recognizing that you have this addiction and being determined to be free from it. It would be really helpful if you delete all social media apps from your phone. Do not renew your data bundle as it would entice you to go back to what you're trying to be free from. 

Spend time with your friends and family during this period of your social media detox. It could be a one month process but it would be worth it at the end. Engage yourself in light conversations with your friends as this is what spending so much time on social media deprives you of. Study your books if you're a student. Put yourself on a study time of two hours per day for a start. It would be difficult, but it is worth it. Watch TV programmes with your family. Go to bed early too. This is one of the side effects of being addicted to social media,your body gradually adapts to getting little or no sleep because your eyes are always glued to your phone screen. You would realize that your long acquired insomnia begins to disappear as you now find it easy to sleep early. Doctors have said that those who have longer durations of sleep live longer.

Having a social media detox would also reduce the mental stress you experience frequently.

Now,think of your attention as a valuable resource and ask yourself if wasting it on strangers is the best thing for your life.

Continue this process for a month and see how much changes it effects on your life.

It takes twenty-one days to one month to cultivate a habit. Be determined.

After this detox period,you would realize that you discovered a hobby and now know how to be a lot more productive. You would also realize that you've unconsciously learnt how to manage time and also how to achieve your set out goals for the day,week or month.