Social media detoxification

Social media detoxification or Social media detox is a kind of mental detoxification under the umbrella of Digital detox, specifically referring to a period of time when individuals stay away from social media platforms.[1]

Detoxification or detox formally refers to the physiological or medical removal of toxic substances from a living organism. Thus this term "social media detox" carries this connotation that social media is negative to the individual and thus he/she needs to stay away from it for a period of time to recover.

Overview

Social media detoxification, or more commonly referred to as "non-use of social media" in academic research, is the period of time during which individuals voluntarily stay away from social media.[2] It falls under the umbrella of Digital detox, with a focus specifically on unplugging from social media. In recent times, it has become an increasingly relevant phenomenon with people from celebrities such as Kanye West and Ed Sheeran [3] to regular social media users going on this detox. For example, a study conducted in 2013 found that more than half of Facebooks American population were non-users.[4] It is a conscious effort made by users to fight against social media addiction. [5]

This phenomenon is focused on a type of non-users known as social media rejectors[6] who were once used of social media but have now voluntarily given it up for various reasons. By unplugging from social media, these rejectors hope to re-embrace the tangible and make more meaningful connections. [7]

Discussion

There has been a wide array of viewpoints with regards to the pros and cons of a social media detox. Research in social media use and non-use has also provided academic backing to the reasons that are often cited by individuals as reasons for going on a social media detox. Some of these include concerns over privacy and data misuse, productivity, addiction and social, professional or institutional pressures.[8][9]

Non-use is not a clear-cut binary distinction in opposition to using, but these rejectors do demonstrate a desire for selective and reversible disconnection.[10] Social media has become so interwoven into daily life that going off social media is the conscious lifestyle choice.[11]

In this digital age, social media plays a vital role in building social capital, maintaining connections[12] and impression management [13] Some scholars even argue that it is important for individuals to have certain levels of distraction for life balance and to achieve a common state of body and mind.[14] As such, social media is a basic need and one cannot cut away from it cold turkey, arguing that moderation is key.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "How to Do a Social Media Detox (and Why You Should Right Away)". makeuseof.com. 2017-03-24. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  2. ↑ Baumer, E. P., Guha, S., Quan, E., Mimno, D., & Gay, G. K. (2015). "Missing photos, suffering withdrawal, or finding freedom? How experiences of social media non-use influence the likelihood of reversion". Social Media+Society. 1 (2). doi:10.1177/2056305115614851.
  3. ↑ "15 Stars Who've Quit Social Media … and How Long They've Stayed Away". people.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  4. ↑ Rainie, L., Smith, A., & Duggan, M. (2013). "Coming and Going on Facebook". pewinternet.org. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  5. ↑ Portwood-Stacer, L. (2012). "How we talk about media refusal, part 1: Addiction". flowtv.org. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  6. ↑ Wyatt, S. M., Oudshoorn, N., & Pinch, T. (2013). "Non-users also matter: The construction of users and non-users of the Internet". Now Users Matter: The Co-construction of Users and Technology: 67-79.
  7. ↑ Jurgenson N. (2013). "The Disconnectionists". The New Inquiry. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  8. ↑ Baumer, E. P. S., Adams, P., Khovanskaya, V. D., Liao, T. C., Smith, M. E., Schwanda Sosik, V., & Williams, K. (2013). Limiting, leaving, and (re) lapsing: An exploration of Facebook non-use practices and experiences. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York, NY: ACM. pp. 3257–3266.
  9. ↑ "Quit Social Media, Dr. Cal Newport". TEDxTrysons. 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  10. ↑ Mainwaring, S. D., Chang, M. F., & Anderson, K. (2004). Infrastructures and their discontents: Implications for ubicomp. In Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag. pp. 418–432.
  11. ↑ "New Digital Practices of Decentralization–Interview with Geert Lovink". networkcultures.org. 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  12. ↑ Baumer, E. P., Guha, S., Quan, E., Mimno, D., & Gay, G. K. (2015). "Missing photos, suffering withdrawal, or finding freedom? How experiences of social media non-use influence the likelihood of reversion". Social Media+Society. 1 (2). doi:10.1177/2056305115614851.
  13. ↑ Donath, J., & Boyd, d. (2015). "Public displays of connection". SBT Technology Journal. 22 (4): 71–82. doi:10.1023/B:BTTJ.0000047585.06264.cc.
  14. ↑ "The aesthetics of dispersed attention: An interview with German media theorist Petra Löffler". NECSUS. 2013-11-08. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  15. ↑ "Should you quit Facebook? The pros and cons of staying connected on social media". ABC News AUS. 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
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