Social Media Detox: Why Teens Should Take Time Away From Electronics

Social Media Detox: Why Teens Should Take Time Away From Electronics

Social media is a great way to stay connected with friends, meet new people, and stay up to date on current events. Unfortunately, it also seems to take the place of many other activities teens used to love.

While social media itself isn’t necessarily bad, too much of it can be quite harmful to your mental and physical health.

Less time scrolling can improve stress, anxiety, depression, mood, and many physical health concerns. But why is social media so harmful, and what can you do to keep your health in check? Let’s look.

Why Social Media Can Be Dangerous to Your Mental Health?

We all love jumping on our phones, tablets, and computers to chat away with our friends, learn the latest trends, and stay up to date with famous icons. They are even useful for accessing home help and watching hours of our favorite influencers.

These devices provide us with quick and easy access to the entire world with just a single click or swipe of the finger, and for that, we couldn’t love them more.

With these advantages of using social media, there are just as many disadvantages that can be detrimental to teenagers’ mental health.

Social Isolation: Spending too much time scrolling through posts and reading blogs can keep kids from interacting with each other in a face-to-face setting. This takes away from building quality, strong, and intimate relationships.

Increases exposure to bullying: With a lack of supervision and the ability to hide behind a screen, online bullying has created a huge issue for many middle, high school, and even college-aged students.

Decrease in productivity- Teens are less likely to complete homework assignments and chores or get to bed on time because of the impulse to check social media accounts.

Develop unrealistic views of life- You can be anybody on social media, and teenagers are determined to keep up with their peers, even though many people paint a much better picture of themselves than who they really are.

High risk of exposure: Teens are impulsive and will quickly share extremely personal information and photos that can harm them in the future.

Many studies conducted over the years have shown that frequent use of social media can and typically will cause a decline in the mental health of teenage kids.

Social media has been called into question many times for its contributions to teen suicide, an increase in teen depression, and teen sleep deprivation.

While we can’t eliminate social media altogether (and who would?), we can combat the issues it poses to adolescent minds.

How Teens Can Detox From Social Media

There is no reason to go cold turkey from your digital devices unless you really want to. Simply knowing when to take a break and regroup for mental clarity can keep you from social media overload.

Reconnect With Nature (You can hyperlink this article to the nature article I completed.)

Studies have shown that spending some time in the great outdoors can be a quick and simple way to clear your mind and regain your sense of self. There are many ways you can use mother nature to help you detox from your devices.

Go on a hike

Go camping

Take a bike ride

Read a book in the backyard

Walk along the beach (toes in the sand)

Visit a local farm

Go bird watching

Explore your neighborhood.

Take a friend and a polaroid camera. This way; you can capture your fun adventure without feeling the need to post a selfie every 20 minutes.

Tip: Create a scrapbook with all the photos you took and give it to your friend as a gift or keep it to look back on in the future.

Take Time for Some Self-Care

It is crucial you always stay true to who you are and constantly remind yourself that YOU ARE WORTH IT.

It can be extremely easy to get lost in the world of social media and try to fit in with your peers. Practicing self-care and self-love is one of the best ways to remember what it is you truly enjoy and the passions you have in life.

There are many great ways to practice self-care,

Pampering yourself with a day at the spa (or painting your nails and doing your hair at home.)

Do a little meditation to clear your mind and find inner peace

Practice reciting mantras to put you in a good mood and increase your outlook on life.

Exercise

Eat healthy foods to energize and nourish your body inside and out.

Create a dream board that will motivate you to reach your goals.

Tip: Get in touch with a health coach or nutritionist for a professional’s advice and tips.

Go Out With Family and Friends

Call up the people you enjoy hanging out with the most and plan a picnic, a trip to the beach, or a day at the aquarium.

Make a rule that phones are to stay packed away until the outing is over. This will help keep you from distractions and allow you to connect with those you care about in a deeper and more meaningful way.

Tip: Put your phones in the center of the table during family dinners, or leave them in the car when you go out.

Essential Oils (you can hyperlink to the essential oil article)

Many people swear by the powers of essential oils for mental and physical health. These oils have been around for hundreds of years, used to cure illness and inspire relaxation and tranquility.

Instead of checking out your favorite YouTuber’s latest video, put on some calming music, turn on your oil diffuser, paint a picture, complete a craft, or just lay still and inhale the aromas to help calm your nerves and take you to a happy place.

Some of the best essential oils for mindfulness include:

Frankincense

Sandalwood

Lavender

Eucalyptus

Bergamot.

Tip: You can use these oils on their own or mix them together to create an excellent calming solution.

Final Thoughts

You don’t have to delete your social media account to improve your mental health. However, learning how to balance your online world with the one you live in is key to overall happiness and well-being.