There is no denying that social media is everywhere—and it plays a huge part of our day-to-day lives. Switch Off Social (SOS) is not against using social media. Rather, our message is that It is okay to own a technology, what is not okay is to be owned by technology.
Countless studies have shown that, when we spend a significant amount of time on social media, we all experience increased anxiety, stress and decreased self-esteem. Watching everybody else’s milestones and achievements fly through your feed doesn’t make you happy for your social media friends, rather it’s effect is to make you disappointed with your own (seeming) lack of accomplishment.
Three billion people, approximately 40% of the world’s population uses social media, especially young people, and are using it on average of 61 minutes per day, impacting a huge swath of humanity. We may be sacrificing our mental health as well as our time by overusing social media, and inflicting needless stress on ourselves.
For those under 30, the effect is even more profound. All over the world, in millions of house-holds, social media is quickly taking over the lives of many young people. Many would rather spend time checking their social media to see if someone liked their post rather than having direct contact with someone in person.
Ironically, many people actually feel that they are keeping in touch with all of their friends by constantly monitoring their social media feeds. However, the truth is that this interaction isn’t getting us anywhere close to real, lasting and close relationships with any of our friends. It’s just empty interaction. Our real, close friends are the ones we spend time with or have actual conversations with—even on the phone or Skype if not in person.
For this reason, it is important for all of us to unplug from social media from time to time to ensure we are able to experience and share as fulfilling a life as possible.
When it comes to our personal lives and human interactions, there is no such thing as social media, there is only unsocial media.
That is why, on June 21st of every year we are asking everyone to switch off their non-work related social media for one week. Why June 21st? Because this date is officially the start of Summer – the Summer Solstice. What better time to get out into the real world and make real-life contact with other people. June 21st could be the time to take up a new hobby or pick up old hobbies that you let drop, get fit, spend time with family, friends and neighbours, read great books and rediscover the joy of living a real life in the real world. Join us on the June 21st and Switch Off Social for just one week.