7 Signs That You Might Need a Social Media Cleanse

Social media is pretty weird, when you really stop to think about it.

It offers some incredible benefits and comes with some interesting challenges.

And it is pretty much everywhere these days. Some would say it is pretty much “everything,” even, these days.

It has surely woven itself into the fabric of our daily lives, providing platforms for connection, creativity, and community.

However, the line between beneficial engagement and detrimental dependency is often blurred. Behaviors surrounding digital devices and social media seem to have a tendency to take on a compulsive nature, hinting at the potentially addictive qualities of these activities.

This article explores 7 key signs that suggest it might be time to consider a social media cleanse, offering insights into how such a break can positively transform your mental health, productivity, and overall well-being.

Social media’s omnipresence can lead to a constant state of connectivity, affecting users’ mental health significantly. Studies have linked excessive social media use with increased feelings of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Understanding the psychological effects of our digital habits provides important insights that can help us when it comes to recognizing when to take a step back.

Recognizing the Signs

1. Constant Comparison: The curated lives displayed on social media can lead to destructive comparison, impacting self-esteem and satisfaction with one’s own life. Constantly comparing yourself to others — especially when a good portion of those others are only presenting carefully curated and edited portrayals of their so-called “real” lives — can have a detrimental effect on your mental health, encouraging you to adopt certain standards that may be both unhealthy and unrealistic for you to try to achieve.
2. Decreased Productivity: Social media can be a significant distraction, affecting both work and personal life. Setting healthy boundaries around your social media use can help you to manage unnecessary distractions and improve your overall productivity.
3. Sleep Disturbances: Let’s be real. When is the last time you didn’t look at your phone right before bed? Excessive screen time in general, but especially before bed, can wreak havoc with your sleep quality. Research findings and expert recommendations highlight the importance of disconnecting for better rest. The blue light emitted by digital devices can alter the body’s natural circadian rhythms, and the noise — or even just the vibrating your phone does when it’s on so-called “silent” mode — of incoming messages and notifications has a tendency to keep your body on high alert rather than winding down.
4. Twitchy Fingers Syndrome: If you’ve ever tried to reduce your social media usage in the past, you might be familiar with that itchy, twitchy feeling that our fingers sometimes seem to get whenever we’re consciously trying not to pick up our phones. Seriously, what did people even DO with their hands before cellphones? Part of this twitchy sensation probably stems from fear of missing out (FOMO), which can lead us to constantly check our social media feeds, fostering anxiety and dissatisfaction. A critical component involved in overcoming this anxiety and dissatisfaction lies in being more mindful and paying more attention to the value of living in the moment and appreciating real-life connections.
5. Negative Impact on Relationships: Social media can also put a strain relationships. The proliferation and accessibility of social media makes it particularly tempting for some less-than-trusting partners to try using social media posts as a way of checking up or spying on each other’s activities. Even beyond this, though, have you watched any couples having dinner together at restaurants lately? Count how many of them are staring at their phones rather than into each other’s eyes. Digital connections are convenient and immensely useful in lots of ways, for sure, but so are our real life, face-to-face interactions, especially with the ones we love. Right?
6. Obsession with Likes and Comments: Okay, I know I’m guilty of this. It’s hard not to be, isn’t it? I mean, “I hope no one likes me,” said nobody ever. It’s easy to get caught up in the dopamine rush of an onslaught of incoming likes on your social media account. But the pursuit of validation through likes and comments can become an obsession, causing a downward spiral in mental health. Just imagine, for a moment, that you unexpectedly lost access to one of your social media accounts, permanently. If a life without your social media account sounds bleak, depressing, or petrifying, you might just be a tad bit digitally over-invested.
7. Feeling Drained or Unhappy: Feeling consistently drained or unhappy after using social media is a clear sign that a cleanse may be beneficial. (Incidentally, this is also a sign that you might want to consider overhauling the list of who you’re following and where, when your cleanse is done.) During your cleanse, focus on finding joy and fulfillment beyond the digital sphere. What are some hobbies and activities you used to enjoy that perhaps you “haven’t had time for” lately?

If you’re connecting way too many of the above dots in your own life, implementing a social media cleanse or even a complete digital detox might be something to think about. It might just boost your mood, your creativity, your sleep quality, and more.

Time for a Cleanse?

But if you go the way of the cleanse, be sure you don’t set unrealistic goals for yourself. Remember, the only cleanse — digital or otherwise — that is ever going to work is the one you can actually stick to. Start small, and keep the benefits you’re hoping for in mind as motivation to inspire you on your journey.

After your cleanse is over, create a balanced social media “diet” for yourself, with a focus on establishing a healthy balance between your social media usage and your time spent doing other things. If you need help, there are lots of tools and apps designed to monitor and help you manage your time spent online.

And above all, don’t forget, there is life beyond the screen! So don’t be afraid to lift your head from your phone and take part in it. Consider exploring enriching activities and community engagement opportunities that can replace or complement social media usage, fostering a more fulfilling and balanced life.

You can customize your social media cleanse to fit your unique lifestyle and maintain a balanced approach to digital engagement post-cleanse.

Recognize the signs of digital overwhelm and consider a social media cleanse for improved mental health, productivity, and overall happiness.