5 Reasons Why You Should Limit Social Media Use

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Mounting evidence continues to underscore the harmful effects of overusing social media.

From depression and loneliness, to compromising our relationships and social skills, social media hurts us in more ways than one. What’s scary is that we’re beginning to see those effects more and more as social media continues to be a mainstay in our lives.

Keep reading to learn why you should consider drastically limiting your social media use.

5 Reasons Why You Should Limit Social Media Use

1. Social media has consistently been linked to depression. Research continues to highlight the relationship between social media use and depression. In this study, it was found that using social media is positively related to feelings of loneliness and depression, meaning that the more you use it, the more likely you are to experience these effects. The conclusion is clear: limit social media use for your own mental health and well-being.

2. FOMO is real. In addition to exacerbating symptoms of depression and loneliness, social media use also increases our feelings of FOMO (fear of missing out). When you scroll through your newsfeed, it’s likely you’re seeing so many people living their perfect, best lives, when in reality, nothing is perfect. This leads us to feel insecure as we instinctively compare ourselves to others, and wonder what we’re missing out on. People naturally want to appear as their best selves on social media, and social media provides us with the outlet to do just that. However, this perfect, blissful snapshot of other people’s lives isn’t real. FOMO, on the other hand, is very real.

3. It compromises our social skills. Social media can negatively and drastically affect our social skills, to the point where it can harm our relationships. When we resort to communicating using technology, rather than in person, we miss out on both verbal and non-verbal cues, which are crucial to successful communication. Communication over the digital space removes both of these components, which diminishes our ability to communicate effectively. Over time, the absence of these cues accumulates, which ultimately harms our relationships.

4. Using social media pulls us away from the present. When we’re constantly absorbed by what’s happening on social media, rather than in the here and now, we no longer live in the present moment. We choose others’ lives over our own, which significantly and negatively affects our own quality of life. We also instantly set ourselves up to compare ourselves to others where we’re drawn into others’ lives more than our own.

5. It lowers our self-esteem. In this study, it was found that over half of social media users believe that using social media has negatively affected their self-esteem. It’s no wonder, considering that social media is essentially a highlight reel of others that we use to compare against our own lives. Do yourself and your self-esteem the favor, and limit your social media use.