It’s the beginning of the year, and it’s the time of year for changes. As the years have gone on, more and more social media has been popping up. It’s incredibly time consuming and distracting, which can lead to negative thoughts and feelings. Push the reset button on your brain, and try a social media cleanse. You’ll notice 6 benefits off the bat.

1. Limit Bad Comparisons: We are all guilty of it. We post the best looking picture of ourselves or our food. It’s a false representation of reality. No one wants to reveal their ugly sides. You post about our accomplishments, not our failures, and that’s true of all of your other “friends,” too. As you are scrolling through your feed, you see all the perfect lives of everyone else, and you question why you are so bad at everything. Our brains are made to compare things and make associations. We see all of the things that others have that we don’t and we start to spiral into depression. Protect yourself from making bad comparisons by getting off of social media for a while.
2. Have Real Conversations: An emoji and a comment on a status update isn’t connecting with someone. We believe that we are reaching out, but in reality it’s not the interaction that our brain wants. We are made for face-to-face conversation because we are social beings. We need to see another human, and to respond to them in real time. Take your talks offline to have a more genuine connection with the people that you surround yourself with.
3. Break the Notification Addiction: Science has shown that we are addicted to our phones. We constantly look to see if someone liked our status to receive validation. Break the need of being liked by others. Be satisfied in yourself. Your happiness doesn’t come from hearing your phone ping all day. It comes from having inner confidence in who you are.
4. Spend More Time Focused on Work: Without social media, you won’t be easily distracted from the things that actually demand your time. You’ll be able to be more focused at work, and more genuinely enjoy your time off, too.
5. Living in the Moment: Too many people are concerned with capturing the moment rather than experiencing the moment. Science is showing that there is a greater sense of memory for those who don’t try to photograph an event. The reason for this is that your mind is preoccupied with the camera and not actively engaged in the event taking place.
6. Privacy: There are some things about our lives that are too personal to be online. The classic case are drunken photos of last night showing up online. The internet never forgets, which means that not everything needs to be shared.

Break away from the constant negativity that others spew online. Don’t worry about who is dating who, or who tweeted what to whom. It doesn’t matter in the long run. As you let go of it, you’ll feel a massive weight lift off your shoulders. Re-learn how to enjoy yourself with friends without the crutch of social media.