We are all so inundated with various forms of media that we often don’t even realize our levels of consumption are so high. The 24-hour news cycle and advent of social media mean that we have to try (and sometimes try hard) in order to be able to get away from it. In fact, we often use social media as a means to distract us from the many things in our lives/society that we view as unpleasant. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the terms doomsurfing and doomscrolling were created to describe the experience of not being able to stop looking at news, social media, or television, despite knowing that it makes us feel poorly. This inevitably has negative effects on our mental health.
Impact of Media Breaks
As a result, many people take “breaks” from various media forms in which they abstain from consuming, particularly social media. Some do this for a few hours, others a few days, weeks, or even months. One research study aimed to identify whether taking a break from media (particularly social media) improves well-being. They compared individuals who intentionally limited their social media use to only 10 minutes per day with those who didn’t change anything about their social media habits. They found that those who limited their social media reported increases in well-being and sleep quality compared to the control group (Graham et al., 2021).
Another study found that individuals assigned to completely abstain from social media for seven days experienced a reduction in their levels of stress. This effect was amplified for folks who were excessive users of social media (Turel et al., 2018). While it is uncertain the length of time that will yield these results (can it be less than seven days?), it is clear that breaks from media forms will benefit our stress levels.
Often, when people decide to give up social media, there is some situation that prompts them to do so - recognition of dependence on the media, identifying doomscrolling habits, or constant annoyance at the content in the media (Vaghefi, 2021). However, what would happen if we took breaks before we got to this point?
Anecdotally, folks I have worked with who take breaks from media reported reconnecting with old hobbies or friends, having more time to do things they enjoy, and are able to be more mindful about whatever they are doing within their break. Admittedly, some indicate that it is incredibly difficult to stay off social media. However, the vast majority of people who have taken media breaks report that it was a net positive in their life, particularly with regards to stress levels.
Media Break Opportunity
This activity is going to take a lot of intentionality and self-discipline, but is likely to also come with high reward. I encourage you to take a break from all forms of media - social media platforms, news forms, television, radio, and internet. Take this as an opportunity to either reconnect with things that you typically don’t feel you have time for or to relax and unwind.
You can determine the amount of time that works best for you. If a whole day seems infeasible for whatever reason (you need it for work or school, for example), maybe try it out for an hour or two during your day where you would typically use media recreationally. The intention here is to challenge yourself while also staying realistic.
It is our goal that this media break can help you to gain awareness of the impact that media forms have on your own life. Be sure to reflect on what this experience was like - I imagine that there will be a range of experiences and that some will find this incredibly difficult and others will find it easy. Regardless of what your experience is, we want to hear about it (once it’s over)!
Related: 5 Ways to Improve Your Relationship With Social Media
Written for Fitness Blender by Haley S, PhD
Licensed Psychologist
References
Graham, S., Mason, A., Riordan, B., Winter, T., & Scarf, D. (2021). Taking a break from social media improves wellbeing through sleep quality. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 24(6), 421-425.
Turel, O., Cavagnaro, D. R., Meshi, D. (2018). Short abstinence from online social networking sites reduces perceived stress, especially in excessive users. Psychiatry Research, 270, 947-953.
Vaghefi, I. (2021). Sustaining Abstinence from Social Media: Results from a Seven-Day Facebook Break: Social Media Abstinence. In Academic Mindtrek 2021 (pp. 221-229).