‘Facebook Free February’ – Are you up for the challenge?
Mental health campaigners invite everyone to have a ‘Facebook Free February’
It follows a study by the Happiness Research Institute in Denmark called the “The Facebook Experiment”. It found that social networking makes you 55% more likely to feel stressed, but taking a break leaves you 18% more likely to live in the moment.
What to do … Simply deactivate or log off Facebook for the month of February. If you like, set your profile picture to the FFF logo and/or share a status saying why you’re doing FFF.
Social media and technology in general have become a part of our everyday lives. Facebook and other sites have the function of keeping us connected to the people in our lives as well as providing an outlet for self-expression. Using these sites make us feel more connected with the world, but there are some negative sides to social media use, particularly for our mental health.
FACTS
- People on Facebook are 55% more likely to feel stressed.
- People taking a break from Facebook are 18% more likely to feel present in the moment.
- After one week without Facebook, people felt they wasted their time less.
- People on Facebook are 39% more likely to feel less happy than their friends.
Particularly for individuals who struggle with self-esteem issues, underlying or otherwise, a site such as Facebook that focuses so much on external validation can pose some serious problems.
Would you be willing to take the challenge?
5 Tips to help you reduce time on social media
- The hardest but most important step on how to quit social media is to delete your social media accounts! Delete the apps off your phone.
- Private message or “inbox” close friends your phone number letting them know you know be checking messages on social media sites.
- Set a limit – if you do go on social media, set a time limit and don’t go over often 20 minutes can turn into 2 hours!
- Delete extra people from your friend list, the more the people, the more vast your news feed, and the more time you spend checking things out while you could be engaging in a useful activity
- Think about the useful things you could be doing instead of wasting time on these sites. Learn a new language, play an instrument, get fit and exercise, learn a new recipe, take the dog out, or read a book.
If you decide to take the challenge make sure to keep us updated and good luck !!
[ctt template=”12″ link=”DcRsg” via=”no” ]“Dr. O’Keeffe and Dr. Clarke-Pearson state, The intensity of the online world is thought to be a factor that may trigger depression.” [/ctt]
