Taking a break from social media makes you happier and less anxious

Re:Taking a break from social media makes you happier and le... by impjohn on Tuesday May 17, 2022 @03:42AM (#31407202)

I've been away from facebook and instagram for about 4 years. Never caught the tik-tok or snapchat train, so the only consumption i do is light reddit and hackernews. The weirdest thing for others is that I can sit indefinitely without having to look at my phone and actually get lost in thoughts or even get bored.

The downside is that it can isolate you. Where I live, if you're not on instagram you don't exist. My girlfriend is more up to date with what my colleagues are up to, even though I spent 8 hours a day with them in the same office.

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Re:Taking a break from social media makes you happier and le... by arky527 on Tuesday May 17, 2022 @05:47AM (#31408105)

I find this to be a good motivator to make better interactions with co-workers & friends. Since giving up FB/Instagram I've found conversations with friends to be much more engaging and fulfilling

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Re:Taking a break from social media makes you happier and le... by lexx on Tuesday May 17, 2022 @04:13AM (#31407403)

I am in the exact same situation for the past 2 years. My mood is vastly improved. The social media isolation aspect is as important as the social media socialization aspect to me. Not important.

The people I want to talk to are on discord or signal, and we do actual activities together

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Re:Taking a break from social media makes you happier and le... by RMPR on Tuesday May 17, 2022 @05:42AM (#31408053)

> and we do actual activities together

This! I have a good friend of mine who is very active on Instagram and tiktok, where I don't have an account. But the fact that we are doing activities together makes us close. Real life exists, and it's infinitely better than whatever the social app of the moment is.

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Re:Taking a break from social media makes you happier and le... by digisign on Tuesday May 17, 2022 @03:49AM (#31407245)

I'd say it is better to know a few people well than skim the updates of hundreds.

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Re:Taking a break from social media makes you happier and le... by SCUSKU on Tuesday May 17, 2022 @03:52AM (#31407267)

I would have to agree, I also gave up Instagram/Facebook because I noticed it impacting my mental health.

The only thing I miss is the early days of Facebook when it was just humans being human, and posting pictures of them being silly or with their family instead of flexing about newly acquired money/status, etc. But maybe that's just me remembering with rose tinted glasses.

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Re:Taking a break from social media makes you happier and le... by impjohn on Tuesday May 17, 2022 @03:55AM (#31407292)

Personally it's hard to understand if quitting SM changed my emotional response to a lot of things or if it is me who changed in time. It doesn't help that the agenda and techniques used by these platforms evolve all the time to find new ways to hook you in

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Re:Taking a break from social media makes you happier and le... by ellopoppit on Wednesday May 18, 2022 @03:04PM (#31426409)

Indeed, this is how humans have lived for their entire history, up until extremely recently.

Our brains are not wired for it

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Re:Taking a break from social media makes you happier and le... by kilroy123 on Tuesday May 17, 2022 @06:18AM (#31408325)

I feel exactly the same. The plus side is I can focus and crank out a full days work in only 4-5 hours. While other colleagues take 7-9 hours.

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Re:Taking a break from social media makes you happier and le... by moffkalast on Tuesday May 17, 2022 @11:53AM (#31412503)

> or even get bored

That's key for creativity after all.

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