This is my first time posting something sort of a sequel. Last time I wrote about the things I do that I consider digital minimalism. Those things help me to minimize the digital noise and clutter that I receive from excessive social media intake. We need to protect our mental health at all costs, and we have to do it intentionally.

You may read my previous post here: Reclaim Your Life Through Digital Minimalism

A life of digital minimalism is challenging. I know what it feels to be hooked on and sucked up on things offered by our news feed. It can be anything - from political discourse to celebrity news, viral news bordering on odd to gruesome to cringe. We are offered a smorgasbord of content. 

But what happens when we log off our social media apps and stay away, at least for a while? 

Here are some benefits. 

Better focus

Whether we admit it or not, social media is a distraction. As soon as it catches our attention, we are ensnared by its never-ending entertainment. If you're a digital native, it takes a sheer amount of willpower to get away from the realm of social media. 

But when successfully learn to do away with our unnecessary social media usage, we can see how it helps us focus. We can fully engage in our classes or work, we can invest more time, energy, and attention in whatever project we're doing. And the more attention we give, the more quality we can impart. 

Better Mental Outlook

Mental health issues are a major concern today. And according to studies, social media has something to do with it. Instagram triggers us to be envious of others' posts. Facebook and Twitter soak us in the toxic behavior of some people. Our algorithm follows us wherever we go - as evidenced by the ads that keep on popping from the sites we visit. If these don't affect your mood, I wonder what else will.

So it is helpful to log out from time to time and enjoy the fellowship of real people around you. Reclaim your peace and solitude, and shut down the digital noise. Refresh yourself and listen to the sound of healthy conversations and lively laughter from people you care about. Don't let the toxicity of some people ruin your days. 

Better Self-Awareness

If you're obsessed with social media, you'll find out that you have been equating your whole identity with that of your social media profile. My writing mentor said that today's generation has given us two identities - physical and virtual. And these two have to sync together otherwise you'll have an identity (and integrity) crisis. Who we are online should be the same as who we are offline. 

The problem is when we project an online identity different from who we really are. We become posers. If this persists, there will be confusion - not just for us, but also for people around us. 

But we can prevent this by reclaiming our real selves as we build our real personalities offline. If we want to be the kind, compassionate, diligent, and respectable person we claim to be online, we need to make it a reality offline. We need to develop ourselves to bridge the gap between our physical and virtual selves. 

I onboarded MySpace, Multiply, and Friendster during their popularity and I've been into Facebook since its early stages. I learned that not everything we see on social media is real and neither healthy. Some will make you question things and concepts, some will trigger you emotionally, while some will just waste your time. 

Social media is not evil. It is always neutral. But it is highly addictive. 

So, caveat social media users.