Unfollowing social media: The best decision of your life

teenagers are a particular delicacy for this ravenous monster. If we don’t tame social media use, it may just swallow us whole.

media daily were at increased risks of severe mental health and well-being issues, including dejection and emotional instability.

probable.

A feral beast lurks on the screen of something we use every day: our phones. This monster demands ceaseless attention, bombarding us with the ping of Instagram notifications and the vibrations of new messages. We know it has a deadly bite, and yet we perpetually stare into its eyes and swipe our fingers through its fur.

Haunting us at school, home, the local grocery store and even the quiet moments before we sleep, this beast wears many different masks. But we know all of its faces as social media.

Demanding constant attention and thriving on distraction, social media incessantly breathes down our necks, spreading misinformation, insecurity and killing faceto-face interaction. It feeds on many, but

Instagram, YouTube and TikTok have become the stars of our generation. Their names are on the lips of every teenager, and their outlandish trends are taking over just about every imaginable thing in the juvenile lifestyle.

According to The Mirror’s survey, 20 percent of students polled have an average daily screen time between one and three hours. Astoundingly, zero percent of students who responded to the poll have a screen time below one hour.

Depression and anxiety are burning topics among young individuals, and social media dumps fuel into the fire of these severe mental health issues. According to a 2019 study conducted by the Mayo Clinic, American teenagers who spent over three hours on social

The art of face-to-face interaction has been lost to the pre-Instagram era. Eyes are now drawn to screens like magnets. Social media provides a tempting incentive to not look at the people around us, a tried and true method of ruining relationships. According to Psychology Today, innumerable benefits can be reaped from direct communication, including enhanced personal connections, mastering articulation and establishing stronger trust.

Along with fentanyl, nicotine and cocaine, social media deserves a slot on the list of the world’s deadliest drugs. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok trigger surges of dopamine that drive individuals to perpetually post, comment, like and scroll.

A study conducted by Cross River Therapy in 2023 reveals that approximately 70 percent of teenagers and young adults in the U.S. have a social media addiction. Feeling that constant tug to open your phone and scroll through your feed can sorely affect your social capabilities. With intense electronic dependency, losing touch with yourself and others is highly