4 Surprising Downsides Of Quitting Social Media, According To A Gen Z Woman Who Didn’t Use It For 3 Years
Everyone seems to think that quitting social media would be good for them, but there may be some disadvantages.
Alex Sheldon | Unsplash One Gen Z woman took an extended break from social media for three years while she was in college, and while she found it beneficial, she also picked up on some disadvantages of living without the apps that went deeper than just not being able to show off the cool things she did. Instead, the woman, known as billy newspaper, shared the surprising downsides to not using social media that caused her to return to the apps after her long absence.
Social media addiction is real, and it’s very prevalent in our society. Everyone is constantly liking, DMing, and scrolling. Deep down, I think most of us know that we would probably benefit from a social media break, but none of us can really muster up the courage or motivation to actually take one. But like with nearly everything in life, there's a happy place in between that everyone seems to forget, but billy newspaper is reminding us of.
Here are 4 surprising downsides of quitting social media, according to a Gen Z woman who didn’t use it for 3 years:
1. Not feeling motivated to make changes and take risks
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Comparison culture is often touted as one of the worst parts of social media. The Jed Foundation said that it can even lead to mental health issues like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and self-esteem and body-image issues. What everyone posts is just their highlight reel, and no one sees others’ lowest moments. It’s a tough pill to swallow because only seeing the best parts of people’s lives distorts your perception of reality and makes you think life should look that way all the time. But, surprisingly, there may be some benefits to the comparison that comes with social media.
“It gets kind of easy to become stagnant and content with your life,” billy newspaper admitted. “When you’re on social media, you’re constantly challenged … And it’s really inspiring to see what’s possible with your life, especially when you see other people in your age bracket doing something like starting their own business, going out on a limb like that.” She said that when she took her break from social media, she could “convince myself that I was doing enough or I was doing what was expected of me,” but she actually lost the push she got from watching her peers succeed.
2. Not feeling as connected to your loved ones
Maybe the most obvious downside of not using social media is that you can’t stay as close to your friends and family. This is unfortunate because our relationships shouldn’t be dictated by a bunch of apps, but that doesn’t make it any less true. A survey conducted by Gallup and Meta found that the way most people typically connect with loved ones is still in person, but one in three people said they used social media to connect with others at least once a day over the past week. Additionally, people who reached out online were more likely to do the same in person.
The TikToker explained that social media is much more than just liking others’ posts. It’s also a way to share memes and videos with each other over DM. That’s practically become a new language for younger generations. “But also, there will be social situations where people bring up something that is viral on social media, and everyone’s laughing about it, bonding over it,” she added. When you’re not active on social media, you can’t really be a part of those moments. It all leaves you feeling left out.
3. Not taking the time to document what you’re doing
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Social media users know all about getting that perfect photo or aesthetically pleasing video clip to share. And, usually, there’s no room for imperfection. As psychologist Mike Brooks, PhD, said, “Teens and young adults can get particularly caught up in this, which might include taking scores of selfies to get the ‘perfect’ one, using filters and apps to enhance photos before posting, and only posting ones for the purpose of getting as many followers and ‘likes’ as possible.”
Leaving behind the rat race of always needing to take multiple photos from different angles to make sure you end up with one good one certainly isn’t a bad thing. But, this Gen Z woman also found that when she wasn’t posting on social media, she lost the desire to document her life at all, which she thought was a bad thing. “So there’s a huge chunk of my life where I just don’t have photos of what I did,” she shared. “Social media is a good built-in incentive to always be taking videos and photos of your life, so that’s something I definitely missed out on.”
4. Not keeping up with acquaintances
As billy newspaper pointed out, social media is a great way to continue interacting “with people that you aren’t close enough to be texting or calling or staying in contact with, but that you were connected enough with.” You’re not going to become best friends with every person you meet, but you still may want to keep up with them on some level. Following them on social media is a great way to do that. It doesn’t create any pressure to develop some kind of deep bond, but it does let you stay in touch.
She used the examples of summer camps and internships for this. “You’re probably not gonna speak again, but you made a really good connection. You kind of wanna keep that person in your life, or see how they’re doing and keep track of their life,” she explained. “Because I like just having almost an archive of people that I’ve seen in my life and met that aren’t necessarily my best friends or people that I will invite to my wedding, but just having, you know, they’re people you came across in your life, and social media is a great way to keep track of that.” Before social media, there was really no way to keep up with acquaintances like this, but now we have the perfect method of doing so.
There are a lot of pitfalls that come with using social media. However, as this Gen Zer shared, it would be untrue to say that everything about social media is bad. In fact, there are some things you might find missing from your life if you cut social media out completely. The smart thing to do is to find a good balance and use it in moderation instead of letting it take over your life.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
