Social media has taken over in an unimaginable way causing people to need a cleanse to provide a drawback to reality and mental relief.

According to The University of Maine, nearly 5 billion people in this world utilize some type of social media platform. From mainstream apps such as TikTok, Snapchat, BeReal and Instagram, people spend hours of their day on social media. These apps have consumed us as a society. Social media, though revolutionary and very beneficial to those who made a career out of it, comes with countless downsides. 

Spring Hill College junior Ronnie Bergeron recently took a two-week break from social media to reconnect with reality. 

Bergeron stated, “Taking a break from social media was one of the best decisions I have made for myself. I was not really aware of how much I needed it until I actually did it. Social media is a world of its own, and I think people forget there is a whole other world that existed well before social media took over.” 

Like most things in life, sometimes you just need a break. These breaks can come in the form on taking time off from school and work, or maybe even taking a day away from people in general. Browsing social media is by no means physically draining, but it is severely mentally damaging. 

“In all honesty, I was not expecting anything to come from this cleanse,” Bergeron added. “It wasn’t until I noticed a huge change in my everyday mental state that I realized how much I was benefiting from it.” 

Bergeron was able to connect with his friends without a phone for the first time in a long time. He also noticed a huge change in the effort he was putting into school and work. 

Social media, at times, can be a great outlet for people. It allows us to connect to the world in a whole new way. However, what started as a fun, refreshing place for people to share their lives, has now turned into a beacon for people to hate and bully behind a screen. With the amount of exposure the world has to social media, taking a hiatus is a necessary measure in which every member of society must partake for their own benefit.