Most college students spend a large amount of time on social media. It’s where you connect with friends, take a break with some entertainment, or just kill time. However, using social media constantly can have a negative impact on your life in multiple ways. If you’re spending the majority of your free time on social media, cutting down with a social media cleanse could bring the following benefits.
1. Improve Your Mental Health
You may not immediately feel better when you stop spending time on social media. In fact, you may initially struggle with the temptation to constantly open your favourite apps. Over time, though, a reduction in social media use should increase your sense of happiness and decrease your feelings of anxiety. It’s important to acknowledge that this is due to a lack of social media — otherwise, you may return to bad habits!
2. Gain Back a Sense of Control
When social media becomes an addiction, you stop consciously choosing to check your feeds and just do it automatically. By actively deciding to limit your social media usage, you regain control and start to only open apps when you actually want to look at something or send a message.
3. Focus on Your Hobbies and Interests
Social media can suck time away from the things you care about. By committing to spend less time on social media, you’ll have more chances to pursue your interests and practise your hobbies — perhaps even to explore new passions.
4. Improve Your Relationships
When you’re always glued to your phone, you neglect the people around you — plus, chatting over text is not the same as having an in-person conversation. Talking more with the people you see every day will strengthen your relationships and help you make closer friends at college.
5. Reduce Negativity in Your Life
People almost always post about the best things in their lives. This can make it seem like your friends are doing much more exciting things than you are, which can lead to negative emotions. The situation is worse still if you follow influencers: their entire job is to show how great their lives are. Turning off social media will allow you to focus on the real world. When you stop comparing yourself to everyone else, it’s easier to enjoy life.
Another way decreasing your time on social media reduces negativity is by preventing interactions with trolls. Since people are far less likely to say mean things to each other in person, real-world interactions are, as a rule, more pleasant — including with strangers.
Instead of opening up a social media app, spend your free time meeting people and practicing self-care. As well as joining activities on campus, you can make friends at your student housing — provided you choose the right rooms for rent. Oshawa has the ideal student housing at Foundry Simcoe. You can meet other students in the common room, make friends with your new roommates, or relax in the bedroom of your fully-furnished apartment. Apply now and you could secure a unit with a balcony.
