Change Your Relationship with Social Media
Instead of quitting altogether, change how you confront the social media machine
The goal of social media abstinence has become quite commonplace. This comes as no surprise. Many feel exhausted by information and social content overload. The pressure to take part seems insurmountable.
There has been a lot of conversation questioning the effectiveness of outright quitting. An article reflecting a study in November 2019 explores the effects. Specifically for up to 4 weeks. Their findings are quite troubling.
“All participants completed a daily diary measuring loneliness, well-being, and quality of day. Results showed no main effect of social media abstinence.”
— Jeffrey A. Hall, University of Kansas
While I am not rejecting their findings, I question the duration of time in the study. Four weeks isn’t enough time to determine the psychological and social effects of removing this addiction.
Phillippa Lally’s research about habit-forming explains that solidifying a new habit can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days. On average, it would then take more than 2 months before…
