Why You Need A Social Media Break

Last week I took a social media break.

At first it was mainly because I was going to go away for a stay-cation in the beautiful county of Devon and there was no WiFi where we were staying or any signal for mobile data. However, as the week went on I realised that I actually did need the break from all things social. 

To be honest, I knew deep down that I needed a break from social media. For starters, being on social media is a large part of my career as a digital marketing strategist and as a blogger. So, ultimately I probably spend way more time on social media than the average millennial. I'd say roughly per week I easily spend around 40+ hours in the world of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Everyone knows that too much of anything isn't good for you. Especially something like social media where some people make a large part of their life public. Don't get me wrong, I love sharing parts of my life with my readers online, however it's always important to remember that things aren't always what they seem.

We've all been there, scrolling through that one person's feed thinking, why isn't my life like theirs? Am I falling behind? What am I missing? It's not fair! Whether it's because of the way this other person looks, where they went on holiday, what they're eating or even their career. We all do it, torturing ourselves with petty jealousy, self-doubt or even despair. 

Why do we do this to ourselves? Well, for some reason, us humans love to be competitive and we love to compare ourselves to one another. Now, with everyone posting every detail of their lives on social media it's easier than ever to fall victim to this. 

I know that I pretty much did this on a daily basis and I quickly became upset that I wasn't as successful as some other people I follow on social media. I felt disappointed with myself and it did no favours for my self-confidence. However, at the time I couldn't see this.  

Nobody's life is perfect, no matter how many stunning Snapchats, beautiful Instagram shots or compelling Facebook statuses they make public. What you see on social media, majority of the time, is through rose-tinted glasses, or should I say filters.

Anyway my point is that what you see on social media is only a small part of someone's life. So there's no point in getting caught up in it. I know it's hard but try not to compare yourself to others.