Others have abandoned social media for good. Does it really make them happier? I t was when Mehret Biruk lost two hours of her life to Instagram that she knew the time had come to escape. What had she been looking at? The irony was that Biruk had returned to the photo and video-sharing platform only some months earlier, after a three-year break. And she had only returned to promote her website and newsletter , in which she writes about the benefits of spending less time online.
She hoped to reach the people who might want help. Instead, she found herself getting sucked back in. It was just instantly back to scrolling, and waiting for the likes and comments. In August, the actor Tom Holland posted a video on Instagram saying he was taking a break from the platform and Twitter, because he found them overstimulating and overwhelming.
Others, such as the singer Lizzo and actor Selena Gomez , have previously announced breaks. Earlier this year, one study suggested a week-long hiatus was enough to have a positive effect.
In a group randomly selected to take a break from platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, researchers found that symptoms of depression and anxiety had reduced, and overall wellbeing increased. Would a longer period have an even bigger impact? Were they using it mindlessly, just scrolling? The researchers interviewed some of the participants a year later. Maybe they deleted the apps off their phone, or they decided not to use it in the morning when they first woke up.
This was the case for Korkor Kanor, a public relations executive, who was on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat and found it had become overwhelming and time-consuming. So I just removed myself from that space altogether. Kanor deleted Snapchat , and came off Twitter and Instagram for around nine months. I was way more balanced emotionally. When she did go back to social media, it was with changes. She also intends to schedule regular breaks from social media, with another one this month.
