Do you ever wake up feeling more tired than you were the night before?
Your eyes feel puffy and dry for no apparent reason, and just thinking about checking your phone suddenly makes you suspiciously nervous, but it’s still the first thing you’re about to do.
There are many possible reasons for this, but considering we’re living in this day and age, there’s a high chance you’re suffering from social media burnout.
Yes, that exists. In fact, it’s proven to lead to anxiety, depression, and various types of trauma.
Scrolling through the feed whenever you’re bored, anxiously waiting for someone’s reply or checking their activity so many times throughout the day. We all do it.
Don’t ignore your feelings or obvious signs your body is showing you.
If you recognize yourself in any of these signs, do yourself a favor and think about having a social media detox.
1. You’re stressed out
You constantly feel like there’s always something more to do. You can’t relax even if you’re not doing anything.
Your mind is full of racing thoughts and you just want it to stop.
Maybe in the back of your mind, you’re waiting for that one message. You keep eyeing the phone but nothing happens.
That’s where overthinking starts. Why didn’t he call? Is he mad? What is he doing right now?
You suddenly feel so bad and your whole day is ruined. And what’s worse, it was all in your head.
The other thing you might be feeling is the so-called fear of missing out. It’s a form of social anxiety many people are not aware of.
It’s characterized by a desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing.
It’s a pressure to stay updated on everything. And it often feels like a fear of regret.
Next time you scroll through your feed and start feeling panicky because everyone seems like they know what they’re doing, remember:
People only want you to see the best of them.
Their life’s more than likely just as mundane or exciting as yours.
2. You spend too much time on the wrong profiles
Let’s face it. Everyone is stalking their exes. If they say they’re not, they’re probably lying.
After all, whatever the circumstances, they were still a big part of your life and it’s possible you still have some strong feelings attached.
However, revisiting your old traumas so often can be very damaging. Especially if you do it with the wrong intention.
Same goes for other things that make you feel bad (read: Facetuned Insta models in bikinis, endless how-to-videos you never actually use, and don’t let me start on food mania).
It leaves you feeling dissatisfied and disappointed. And it happens in the blink of an eye. It takes just one photo or one little sentence.
But it can last for days.
3. You feel tired all the time
It’s well known that receiving constant stimuli from our phones and other devices disrupts sleep.
Receiving information 24/7 is not how the human brain is meant to work.
If you have trouble sleeping, your eyes hurt, or you have late night headaches, this could be why.
Unhealthy sleep patterns tend to decrease your productivity and concentration.
Try leaving your phone in a different room before you go to sleep and see what happens in a few days.
4. Your self-confidence is running low
Keeping in mind what I said previously, it’s not hard to assume social media plays a big role in how we perceive ourselves.
This is the first time in history people have access to peek into the private lives of others all the time, anywhere.
And what’s more important to mention is we’re living in the age of augmented reality, which means not everything you see is real, even if it looks like it.
But that doesn’t stop us from comparing ourselves with obviously unrealistic images. It’s just how the human mind works.
We want attention and we want to feel wanted and accepted. There’s nothing wrong with that.
But next time we’re about to post another over-edited selfie after coming up with a perfect caption that took 20 minutes to think out:
Shouldn’t we try to check our priorities and ask ourselves are we taking life just a little too seriously?
