More offline opportunities abound if you spend less time on Facebook and Twitter, noted a blog post at Forbes, urging people to quit using social media. Author J. Maureen Henderson cited three key reasons people should quit these networks even though they’re prevalent in everyday life.
First, although evidence that social media causes anxiety is primarily anecdotal, a UK research study revealed that frequenting social media sites leads to lower self-esteem. Specifically, more than 50 per cent of the study’s respondents said that lower self-esteem is caused by comparing themselves to peers on social media.
The solution to this is to go offline because you won’t be affected by the achievements of your former classmates or relatives studying at prestigious schools such as Harvard or The Massachusetts Institute of Technology if you didn’t know about them. In addition, you won’t have the urge to stalk your ex on Facebook or Twitter, which is a great way to end an unhealthy habit.
Second, using social media could increase your blood pressure, as bad behaviour is prevalent among these sites. These behaviours include cyberbullying, bragging and even criminals planning to steal your credit card info or hack your computer. You might want to consider taking a break if you can’t pull the plug entirely.
Finally, the important things in life happen offline. Nearly 25 per cent of Americans said they’ve missed out on vital real-life moments in their bid to capture and memorialize them for social media.