Social media detox can have a grounding effect — experts

AMMAN — A detox from social media helps to find stability and sustainability in today’s world, according to experts.

“Social media has become the newest addiction in our modern age, therefore we need to pay more attention to our daily consumption of it,” life coach Shayma Awad told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

Social media platforms bring “significant harms including a reduction in the capacity of concentration, leaving people drained and dissatisfied with their own lives, in addition to negatively affecting mental health”, according to Awad. 

“Social media has its advantages, but still people need to use it consciously,” she further noted. 

A social media detox involves deleting social media applications, or even deactivating the accounts in addition to turning off notifications for a certain period of time, according to Awad. 

“Social media is designed to be addictive and it is seriously hindering our productivity and ability to live a balanced and healthy life,” she said. 

She added that a lot of studies have shown that the more time people spend scrolling through social media applications, the more anxious they feel.

“Notifications, likes, DMs and new follow requests are constantly popping up on people’s phones and all of them want to do the same thing and that is to take a quick glance,” Baraa Ahmed, a Jordanian digital marketer, told The Jordan Times over the phone.

People nowadays are consuming a lot of social media, according to Ahmed, who said that her job requires viewing Instagram in particular for at least three hours per day, but because she follows a balanced approach, she reduced the period to an hour. 

Awad also pointed out the need to limit screen time by setting alarms or by simply setting a certain screen time for each application. 

“I went on a social media detox for a week and it kind of felt liberating,” said Anoud Hussein, a Jordanian in her 20s. 

Hussein said that after she quit social media, she felt more productive, motivated and had a creative flow. “I cannot say it was easy. I felt there was something missing especially during the late evening hours,” she said.