They left social media for good. Are they happier? - The Washington Post

While experts try to understand social media’s mental health impact, some users are running their own experiments. By the time Jesse Waits noticed his relationship with social media had grown into something he didn’t like, he already had the vocabulary to say so. His experience recovering from a marijuana addiction had taught him to take stock of his behaviors and get rid of ones that weren’t serving him, said the 39-year-old, who works at a tech repair counter in Cincinnati. Waits has a house, friends and a partner. But his online connections are sparse after permanently logging off Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter last year during a digital detox. (He uses Instagram on his desktop to promote his side business, he said.) He says he feels happier and more present. But not everybody around him gets it. Some people rib him with a ‘Wow, good for you’ or emotion-dump about their own social media hang-ups. “Addiction is the most interesting of diseases because it’s a disease that convinces yo

While experts try to understand social media’s mental health impact, some users are running their own experiments. By the time Jesse Waits noticed his relationship with social media had grown into something he didn’t like, he already had the vocabulary to say so. His experience recovering from a marijuana addiction had taught him to take stock of his behaviors and get rid of ones that weren’t serving him, said the 39-year-old, who works at a tech repair counter in Cincinnati. Waits has a house, friends and a partner. But his online connections are sparse after permanently logging off Facebook,