20 Signs You Need to Log Off Social Media
By: He Ka
Tags: Health, Technology, Mental Health, Time Management, Social Media

Deactivation of your account might be the break you need.

@prateekkatyal on unsplash

Without delay, here are the 20 signs:

1. You feel anxious and stressed when comparing your life with other people online.

Perhaps, you can’t help comparing your background and income with all these other people online.

You feel like you lack innate value.

It does not feel good when you put in several hours of work, and you find yourself with drastically different results from peers who may be younger, or inexperienced. You do not have the same financial, personal, and material growth seen in other peoples’ online pages.

As a result, active comparison results in a low self-esteem.

What can be done when you experience a low self-esteem? Consider two other components of self-esteem: (1) self-efficacy, and (2) self-respect.

Your ability to efficiently resolve your problems and change your beliefs about your value can significantly improve a low self-esteem.

2. You have passion projects that get delayed because you are keeping up with content that is distracting you.

Are you guilty of spending hours reading personal growth and financial mastery topics? Yet, you do not implement any of the tips given. You mainly browse and read.

Guess what? It is time to apply the arsenal of tips you have amassed from hours of reading and contemplation.

3. You feel emotionally drained and triggered from reading all the posts/news shared with you.

Do you follow many people who have drastically varying viewpoints? Do you allow your mouse and finger to click the ‘trending’ page on all your social media accounts?

The noise is starting to get to you.

How often do you find yourself spending more than one hour reading news articles that leave you exhausted and hopeless?

Try this simple tip: before touching any app or logging into any site, set a timer for 5 minutes to read and browse. Once the alarm rings, you must set aside your phone or tablet.

4. You do not use social media to connect, rather to stalk and to belittle other people.

In a time where there is no shortage of hate, division, and animosity, you decide to use your precious time to stalk and belittle strangers on the internet. Some people use social media to distract themselves from their own pain. This is a sign you may need to get counselling.

Oddly, if you have not spoken to someone in years, you can tell other people intimate details about that person’s life. You know their job, their child’s name, and their recent whereabouts. Yet, you cannot recall details about people in your circle of friends/family.

These are tell-tale signs you can either: (1) apply for a job that requires detective skills, or (2) you can log-off and start memorizing details that are useful to your life.

5. You always have your phone or tablet with you, even if you are in the washroom.

Are you guilty of balancing your phone on the toilet paper holder? Maybe you keep your wireless headphones on all day to stay connected, even when you are doing number one or number two.

It is no surprise that in this technology-age, we see some family members who walk around with a phone, as if it is an extension of their bodies.

Here is a simple tip to prevent you from bringing your phone everywhere with you: leave it on one table and it must remain on that table for at least 24 hours before you can take it somewhere else.

If you cannot complete this challenge, then you should consider the possibility of using airplane mode when it is possible!

6. It has become second nature to log-in automatically, and scroll endlessly for hours.

You have tried to disengage from your social media accounts in the past by logging out, but now you find yourself logging in without thinking about it much.

Your fingers naturally type and scroll without you pausing and thinking: ‘is this kind, necessary, and true, before I post, like, dislike, and share?’

Social media is designed to be highly addictive, so be careful of experiencing withdrawal symptoms from trying to quit. Perhaps, deactivating your account for a week might help you live a life that is engaged in other aspects outside your phone/tablet’s screen.

@coolmilo on unsplash

Another tip to consider: do not use face recognition to log-in, and do not have your accounts set up to automatically log you into your social media accounts.

Try clearing your browsing history every couple of weeks, and clearing any saved passwords to maximize your safety.

7. You are concerned about the posts you share, and it has become a focal point in your daily life.

Before eating, drinking, buying, constructing, sharing, making, and creating, you immediately ask yourself: “I wonder how many likes I can get from this post?”

Your life revolves around content creation.

N ot a single moment is taken to enjoy your meal. Not a single moment is taken to enjoy your life as it is, without concern of getting validation from another person.

@igormiske on unsplash

You are primarily concerned about how a post will get a specific reaction from your followers/friends.

The simple joy of sharing a post has become your main source for a dopamine hit.

8. You cannot fall asleep without spending hours on your phone, and you use your phone as a sleep aid.

Have you ever fallen asleep with your phone right next to you?

Many people suffer from insomnia. There are studies that state the blue light emitted from your screen affects your body’s natural sleep cycle. When the body’s circadian rhythm is thrown out of its normal cycle, your body will negatively react.

The body needs periods of complete darkness to heal. The eyes, in particular, will tell you immediately if you are needing rest.

Instead of buying a lot of eye drops, maybe it is time to put your phone to the side at least two hours before bedtime.

@dogukan on unsplash

Consider the benefits of changing your settings to night-time mode (with a orange hue on your screen) or downloading f.lux.

F.lux is a computer program that adjusts the screen color according to different times throughout the day, such that your eyes will feel less strained closer to bedtime. You can customize the settings so that your eyes feel less strained from looking at the computer screen.

9. Your body is sending you signals that it is in pain and/or sore from your poor posture and inconsideration.

Have you ever laid in bed for an extended period, using your phone/tablet, that when you shift your body, you notice tingling in your legs/arms? Have you ever dropped your phone on your face because you can no longer prop up your phone? Has your gluteus maximus ever been sweaty and flat from sitting too long after extended internet browsing? How about your fingers cramping from too much instant messaging? Can you feel your eyes becoming incredibly strained and dry?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, it is most likely time to log off!

If your body is starting to send signals that you need to stop, maybe it is time to start listening before it is time to make New Year’s resolutions. Develop more body awareness such that your shoulders are not rounded and tensed.

@brucemars on unsplash

Here are some quick tips to improve your body posture:

Drop your shoulders away from your ears.

Imagine a string extending from the top of your head pulling you upwards, so that you lengthen your body, rather than slouch.

Look up and down, and left and right, so that your neck isn’t stiff.

Apply the 20–20–20 rule. Spend a maximum of 20 minutes looking at your screen, and take 20 seconds to look away at an object at least 20 feet away from you.

Work in intervals of 20 minutes to 1 hour. Remember to take 5 to 10 minutes to stretch in between each work period. Your legs and back will thank you.

10. You spend too much money on random advertisements shown on your social media. You know you need to stop, but you feel like it is impossible.

Your bank account is slowly depleting from your overspending. You see many tailored advertisements that fit your personal taste. You can’t help but get that extra item to complete your overflowing collection of random bits-n-bobs.

Pro-tip: do not link your credit card accounts to your social media accounts.

11. You must read every comment and respond to every interaction before ensuring your own personal hygiene and meals are taken care of first.

You have neglected your own daily care. You are no longer functional and clean. Your family has made comments about the smells coming from your body and your room.

Here is a quick tip: if you are hungry and/or dirty, do not even bother to finish reading this article, just go take care of yourself.

12. You use social media to prove yourself and record every milestone, whether it be your own or of a family member’s/friend’s.

If it didn’t get posted on social media, did it even happen?

Was there a graduation, birth, birthday, wedding, party, or job that you did not share? Additionally, if you did not share such events, did you truly enjoy every minute of it without concern of seeing posts of it online afterwards?

If your self-image depends on the respect you get from other people seeing your accomplishments, or the accomplishments of your family/friends, then maybe it is time to reassess what is so great about having a manufactured self-image?

13. You do not care about the privacy of minor(s) who did not give you their consent before you posted their personal life events online.

There is no problem sharing your life with other people.

If you decide to take away that right from a minor who does not understand the concept of ‘giving consent,’ what are your reasons for doing it?

@leorivas on unsplash

Some people may argue they are keeping their posts limited to a close group of friends/family they trust. However, are you certain that everyone on your list of friends won’t sell the minor’s images to random people online? Should there be a required course that all new parents take about the dangers involved in social media?

Maybe it is time to consider deleting those posts before your minor is old enough to ask you: “why did you do that to me without considering how it would affect my future and my feelings?”

14. You get into debates that make you lose your equanimity.

You hit all the maximum letter counts on your social media post to prove your point. You are ready to bring out facts and figures to bring random strangers to their knees because you must be right. In doing so, you do not realize the vein popping out on your hand and perhaps, on the side of your forehead.

Y ou have lost touch with the fact that you have become triggered by a collection of pixels.

@umby on unsplash

15. You have nightmares from what you have read/seen on your social media accounts.

Your subconscious mind has started collecting your impressions, and it is re-showing you images that are triggering you while you are asleep.

16. You are impressionable to the point that you cannot differentiate fake news from reliable resources.

If you cannot determine what is fake and what is real, it is time to step away from your social media accounts.

F abricated content will try to profit off of you.

If your main news source has advertisements galore and clickbait links everywhere, you are probably relying on sources that are biased, and misinformed.

Always question:

Who wrote it?

Do they have qualifications?

What do they want from me (money, attention, views, promotion, traffic)?

What are the sources they reference?

Are the sources peer-reviewed or reliable?

When was the article posted? Is it still relevant? Do experts have anything to say about the viewpoints expressed in the article?

What are some conflicting beliefs/views/facts?

Can I verify the information?

Can I fact-check any scientific claims the article is making?

Are there any recommendations or ideas made that are discriminatory, harmful, and hateful?

17. All your conversations are centered on what you read on social media.

You are unable to hold a conversation about anything outside what you have learned on social media. It is time to become fascinated by other topics that may require more research and rigor.

18. You ask for personal advice through your social media accounts from people who are unverified, or self-proclaimed specialists who do not care about your well-being.

There are plenty of elders and young folks who have been scammed. When hit with a life crisis or vulnerable moment, they immediately get online to share it and ask for advice.

If you find yourself asking for guidance from strangers, make sure you use your discretion, and seek reliable counsel/mentorship, before applying any advice to your personal life.

Consider asking yourself:

Will this advice hurt me long-term (either financially, emotionally, and/or physically)?

Am I acting from a place of anger, hatred, greed, insecurity, fear, or jealousy?

Would I give this advice to someone I love?

Can I trust this random person? Do they have my best interests at heart? Even if they do, who lives with the consequences of the decision if I end up taking the advice?

Should I sleep on it or eat something before acting? Am I acting in haste?

Am I using my logic?

How will my family and friends be hurt if I take this advice?

Have I consulted other reliable resources or a mentor before applying this advice to my personal life?

19. You notice a drastic change in your attention span. And it has affected your personal relationships.

You can no longer focus for long periods without feeling incredibly agitated. You have trained yourself to shorten your attention span.

If it does not emotionally trigger you and heighten your senses, then it is no longer worthy of your attention.

People around you have commented on your inability to hear what they are truly saying. You are too focused on your phone to pay attention to people around you.

@priscilladupreez on unsplash

20. When added up, you realize you are spending years of your life on social media that you cannot take back.

Life is time. If we track our time, then we know how we are spending our life.

When you track your usage, you realize you are spending several hours a day on social media. Perhaps, it is time to change your settings to allow only 10 minutes a day on social media, rather than several hours.

Tip: You can look at your screen time, and change your app limits in your settings.