To consider 'taking a break' from social media?

[Lifeonmars77]

Hi all

First post here and wanted some views/experiences of anyone who has taken a break from Facebook, Insta etc - or in fact decided to leave it behind altogether.

I suffer with anxiety and I'm starting to wonder whether social media is a factor in there somewhere. I mean apart from finding it slightly addictive and being glued to the phone (guilty!) the constant comparison to others and whether we should/could be living our lives in a certain way is possibly resulting in overthinking, anxious thoughts and not helping my cause.

If you've decided to ditch the social media (for whatever reason) I wondered if you'd mind sharing your experiences? Or am I being totally unreasonable to think it's contributing to my anxiety and overthinking the whole thing?!

I got rid of my Facebook around 5 years ago, in the midst of a breakdown. Best thing I've ever done, you very quickly stop thinking about it and you are free again! I found comparison is the thief of joy, and while I still have IG I only follow positive accounts that are focused on interests of mine and not people I know irl, I don't post either. Social media is the scourge of modern life, everyone I speak to finds it affects them negatively, but it is so so addictive they can't stop and seem to think they will be cut off from humanity if they cease to use it.

I deleted FB in 2011 shortly after DC2 was born. Briefly returned in 2016 but rarely ever used it so deleted again. FB is the worst of the bunch imo, always made me feel utterly miserable.

I set up twitter and Instagram in 2013 and enjoyed them much more. I think mostly because there wasn’t the pressure from people I actually knew IRL so I felt able to be myself. I haven’t used twitter for a few years but still love Instagram. It’s drama free, I just like looking at art and delete anyone who posts incessant selfies.

I deleted the facebook app off my phone on NYE because I am fed up of wasting so much time scrolling through pointless posts and comparing myself to others. I have a toddler and newborn baby and 2 school age children and I think deleting fb will help me have more time for them and be more present. I had become addicted to my phone and fb since going on maternity leave which I know is unhealthy. It is early days but so far I have not missed it.

If you've decided to ditch the social media (for whatever reason) I wondered if you'd mind sharing your experiences?

I went cold turkey for 9 months last year. Don't think anyone noticed! I was never a prolific poster.

Just don't announce it to the oinks. When I see people do that, I die a little inside.

I came off for around 2 years and loved it, however when my DS started pre-school then reception I found most parents were on facebook and asking to add me so I went back on to help oil the social wheels (need all the help I can get ) and don't let the shit stuff bother me anymore. I am on it too much though..

I haven’t been on FB since June. It is lovely 😊 I did initially find myself on insta more but only looking, never posting. I contemplated going back on FB yesterday but, frankly, I haven’t missed it at all so haven’t bothered.
Then of course there is MN, which I find myself checking endlessly, so I am now seriously contemplating deleting but think I may need the support of others trying dry January so will see how I go.

Definitely DontFindyourself ! I think it's reflective of my personality anyway to worry about little things, but it got to the point where I really agonised over why someone hadn't liked my status or whatever and imagined it as some sort of slight or that they were annoyed with me?????!!! It sounds ridiculous now I'm saying it but at that point I decided probably social media wasn't bringing the best out in me

To add to a pp comment about MN, I don't find it the same as FB in as much as it's pretty anonymous. I enjoy the discussion without needing to know who they are or what they are doing at every given moment!

I can’t quite bring myself to permanently delete fb, because of my lovely group of friends that I met on here during my last pregnancy. But I deleted the app and now only log on once a day to see what’s happening in that group. I found it was getting me down - the whole living your life on display - however it’s dressed up it’s just showing off and it doesn’t sit well with me anymore. Plus I actually don’t really want to know when the woman I worked with a few years ago is booking her next holiday. Or checking in at the airport, or gloating about how hot it is in wherever. I find I spend more time actually living my life for me without it.

I have never used Facebook , Twitter or Instagram. I do believe that my mental health would suffer if I did

I took breaks off and on from Facebook and deactivated before Christmas, I weighed up and pros and cons and found it wasn't bringing me any joy. It's hard to break the habit and you may find yourself logging on by accident. The good thing is even if you deactivate you still can use messenger and so Facebook friends can still contact you if necessary.

I've never used any social media and don't think I'm missing anything.

I know some people say MN is SM but I disagree.

I decided on a Facebook break about 4 years ago and I've never went back.

Don't miss it.

I wonder how many people conveniently forget that mumsnet also counts as social media

I have massively reduced my use of fb since Christmas day. There are a couple of very local groups that I'm in that are helpful and I will stay on for them (e.g. the groups for class parents at school).

I do feel better for it. A combination of smug parenting and too much detail about people I haven't spoken to for 20 years was really doing my head in.

As I just posted I disagree that MN is SM in the same way that FB is, for example.

@SilverySurfer

Of course MN is different to Facebook, just as Twitter is different, and Insta gram, etc. They still all fall under the social media umbrella.

I did this with FB & Twitter. I missed FB, mainly because my workplace uses it (not for official stuff) and I was missing things I wanted to know about. However, deleting Twitter was the best move I could have made, honestly all the angry people in there make it seem like the worlds about to end because of Brexit / Trump / Syria / Russia or whatever. They might be right but there’s fuck all I can do about any of it so I don’t need to read a billion shouty tweets about it. I feel 100% calmer about the state of the world since I got rid of Twitter.

I deactivated from everything last Christmas in the run up to NYE. It was an unofficial 'resolution' of sorts, having realised I'd become addicted to it and it was doing nothing for my mental health, which had been extremely shaky for several years. I haven't reactivated any of it for over a year now and I've pledged to delete it all permanently this year after I've downloaded all of my photos. I've kept in contact with only the friends and family who really mean something to me, either via phone calls, WhatsApp, emails, texts, etc.

I can honestly say last year was one of the happiest, easiest years I've had since DD was born 11.5 years ago - which was when I started signing up to things. No anxiety. No depressive slumps. Generally feeling SO much lighter and more confident about myself and my life. No comparing myself to others. No desperate need to take perfect photos of EVERYTHING. No worries about not having or not achieving X, Y or Z. Basically, the 'Am I good enough?' question mark that had been shadowing me for so long pretty much disappeared overnight, because I no longer felt like I was caught up in this bizarre circus of perceived perfection.

I thought I would miss it. I haven't. Not once. It's an addictive habit that's actually quite easy to break, OP. You just need to take that initial step and continue getting on with your life. Delete the App icons from your phone so they don't tempt you every time you use it as well. I barely look at my phone during the day any more, to the point where I get seriously pissed off with people who cannot put theirs down for 3 seconds. I'm so much more 'aware' of how addictive handsets and SM are now, whereas before I didn't 'see' it. I will quite happily get up and walk away from people who cannot leave their SM accounts alone while in my company. It's so bloody rude and I'm embarrassed about the fact I used to be just as zombie-like about checking everything!

I’m 22, got rid of all social media 3 years ago and moved towns. Although I feel like I’ve lost some friends, it just shows they weren’t my real friends! I don’t miss it at all.

Deactivated Facebook before Christmas. Was feeling down and lonely and seeing everyone supposedly having great nights out with friends was fuelling depression and anxiety. Not missed it, and don’t intend to go back on it. It really did make me feel bad about myself, and it’s only since leaving it that I realise just how much so.

Still have twitter though, but only follow funny and interesting accounts.

I left FB recently. I was addicted but it didn’t make me happy. It was like I was looking for connections with people but never really feeling satisfied. I thought I’d struggle but I barely think of it. I feel now that it was all false and I spend more time doing useful things like hobbies
I left Insta ages ago as it was really making me hate people who actually weren’t even that bad in real life.

I wouldn't dream of deleting any of it. I like t he fact that I can stay in touch with people who live on the other side of the world, hear about interesting things and also use it for business purposes (promoting my stuff and hearing about events I'd like to go to.)
Some of the people on my various feeds are a bit tiresome sometimes, but then some of the people I deal with IRL are tiresome sometimes.

I like facebook and Instagram as means of staying in touch with family and friends scattered all over the globe. I don’t think I would have stayed in touch with as many of them of it wasn’t for facebook. I have mostly lovely friends whose posts I am interested in seeing. I don’t think its social media which is the problem, its who you interact with on social media and who you are and how you are in yourself. I find people who cannot tolerate other peoples holiday photos a bit weird.

I've never really had it, I had Facebook but was never active on it and deleted my rarely used account after that that scandal in the summer(?). I have a phone that wont install apps of any kind and can't be arsed finding out why and fixing it. I don't have whatsapp or anything at all. Apart from people being bewildered when I ask them to text or email me something it has no effect on my life. Everybody knows I don't have it and people will always pass on information I miss.

I like internet forums and use MN and a few others but only anonymously and as I have to use them via a desktop PC (I can't be arsed typing on a screen or a laptop) it's self limiting because I don't want to be sat in front of a PC all the time and can't do it at work or out and about like people do on their phones, plus I have to wait for the PC to boot up so I wouldn't turn it on just to browse MN.

I have no idea if my mental health benefits from it. I never "got" it in the first place. The idea of posting pictures and stuff online irks me for reasons I can't quite express and I never did it even in the time I had it.