How would a seven-day fast from social media affect society?

How would a seven-day fast from social media affect society?


By Hadley Hatch Posted March 19, 2021

When you think about a seven-day vacation, that seems pretty short to most. Really a seven-day vacation or fast from social media shouldn’t be that bad. Society is addicted to social media. How would society be affected by a seven-day fast? This is a question that not many think to ask. Would this be beneficial or would it mean ruin for all?

Let’s look at the facts, a study on addiction by addictioncenter.com says that an addiction is something that the brain craves. Many people crave social media on a weekly, daily, or even hourly basis. If social media is determined to be an addiction then you may have withdrawals when coming off of it.
For some people, social media may become an issue and even may become problematic to your mental health.

“Social media use becomes problematic when someone views social networking sites as an important coping mechanism to relieve stress, loneliness, or depression,” said Jena Hilliard on the addiction center site.
Some common withdrawals for addictions include highs and lows of emotions commonly known as the emotional rollercoaster, other withdrawals include depression, anxiety, and physical and emotional distress.

You may ask why would I want to take a fast from social media and what benefits could even be presented from this. Benefits include many things, starting with a lower dependence for your addiction. Once you have a lower dependence you can open yourself up to new possibilities and productivity in your school, home, or work life. You may even be able to allow yourself to have more time to physically, instead of electronically, to talk to and interact with people. Some examples of this include doing housework, going to the park with some friends, going on a relaxing hike, and many more.

Did you know that almost 30% of children who spend three or more hours on social media exhibit signs of poor mental health? Social media can also have an effect on children’s brains and developing social skills. When a person is posting on social media and gets positive feedback of some kind, a chemical in the brain called dopamine is released. This chemical causes you to crave social media the more the chemical is released. Dopamine is what makes social media addicting.

Seven days is not long. Everyone who is willing can do it. A fast can be done, it can be good for your health and it can help your well-being.

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