Reasons You May Need a Social Media Break This Summer
For many of us, summer is a time of heightened relaxation, where the stress of school and homework give way to longer days, warmer nights and more free time to hang with friends.
It also means a notable change on your social media feed. More people are posting pics from epic vacations, sharing insights into their cool internships or summer jobs and living their best #HotGirlSummer life.
But just because social media may be exploding with summer content doesn't mean that you need to stay glued to the apps in order to have an awesome summer. In fact, you may find that leaving social media for a few months to enjoy your summer without any Instagram updates or TikTok challenges may be exactly what you need.
How will you know if a social media break is right for you? Here are some reasons to consider logging off.
Your Jealousy Is in Overdrive
Maybe you're working all summer to save up for college and you simply don't have the time or money to take fun weekend trips with friends. Instead of scrolling through endless posts celebrating all your friends' epic summer fun (which, as we all know by now, likely represent a super exaggerated version of their summers) give yourself permission to stop hearting all your friends' posts and log off. You can still build your own awesome summer without comparing it to others.
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It's Distracting You From Doing Anything IRL
It's a weird phenomenon: Sometimes having blocks of unscheduled time means you don't plan anything because your free time just seems endless. Of course, it's not—summer is about eight weeks, and it goes by fast. If you find yourself spending more time watching your friends' TikTok videos than hanging out with your actual BFFs IRL, it might be time to log off and force yourself to meet up with people face to face.
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It's Distracting You From Work
No matter how boring your summer job is, being on social media all day is not a great look. (And if you're a lifeguard or camp counselor, it's definitely not a good call!) Instead of trying to cut back, you may benefit from totally nixing it from your summer entirely.
You Don't Feel Confident About Posting Summer Pics
There's no question that seeing so-called "perfect" bodies on social media (no such thing, obviously!) can affect one's self-esteem. If you find that you're constantly comparing your swimsuit pics to Kylie Jenner's or your favorite influencer—so much so that you're criticizing your every angle—it may be time to take a break from social media until you feel better in your own skin. And remember: A bikini body is any body wearing a bikini.
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Want to read more about self-care? Click HERE to read about the best self-care practices you can follow.