There are only very few people left in the world who don’t use Instagram, twitter, facebook snapchat or some sort of other social medium these days. It’s almost part of our nature, you could say. While we certainly don’t agree with the whole “social media is bad for you” hype going on in recent days, we are very much aware of the following: the best moments in our lives have nothing to do with social media. That’s one of the main reasons why taking a break from it every once in a while is a good idea. Why is that? Find out below.
1. It’s not real!
We know it, but then again we don’t really know it. What’s that? Being aware of the fact that people, may it be our friends, bloggers, celebrities or other people we follow, usually post the filtered, perfect, it-took-me-100-takes-to-get-this-shot kind of of photos. Plus, people won’t usually tell you what’s really going on in their mind or their lives. So little do you know what they struggle with. Don’t overdo looking at other people’s lives online! Just limiting your “scrolling feed” behaviour can free your mind.
2. Get Social
Playing on your phone while with your friends at dinner? Couples that take out their phones when the conversation comes to a halt? Phones really create a distance between us and the people we love, make us less social and also have resulted in us making less effort in keeping the conversation going. Get social!
3. Not living the moment
Let’s be honest, whenever we see something pretty, cool or funny the first thing we want to do is grab our phone and capture it on camera. But don’t we just loose so many precious moments like this? The FashionContainer team knows it’s not easy, but forcing yourself to put your phone down and enjoy the moment is so so important. Just think of this: on your death bed you won’t value that ‘perfect shot’ you took nearly as much as the actual moment itself. Don’t overdo it.
4. It’s not relaxing
Think that scrolling your instagram feed is ‘relaxing’? You’re wrong! First of all, your hands and eyes are both busy processing information. Many of the pictures will probably trigger you mentally in some way. ‘Ugh, I need a holiday too’, ‘Why don’t I look like this’, ‘I wish I could (fill it in). Trust us, we’ve been there too! To really re-charge, do yourself a favour and simply lay on the sofa and stare out of the window alone with your thoughts for a while. Guarantueed you’ll feel more re-energized.
5. It makes you competitive
Sure, a challenge is good sometimes. Getting challenged to do better, work out more, make more effort for your outfit. But spending a lot of time on social media also comes with something else: you become competitive. You want to do better than others. In the Netherlands we have an expression that goes like this: What doesn’t know, doesn’t matter. If you don’t constantly know what everyone is doing, you also won’t get influenced and feel competitive.
Do you think taking a break from social media is a good idea? Why?
Photographer: Tatiane Kozijn | Instagram: @tatianekozijn
