Why I am ditching Facebook and why you probably should too

I HAVE recently came to a pretty important realisation when it comes to social media

I for one will be boycotting Facebook this week, outside of work duties, to see if it changes my mindset at all. I invite you to try it for a week along with me and let me know how you go. Picture: David Stuart

OPINION: IT'S the first thing I do when I wake up and the last thing I do before I go to sleep - and I think it's incredibly bad for me.

Checking social media takes up a large part of my day.

As a digital producer and journalist it's hard to avoid, but let's be honest, even if I wasn't in this field, I'd be checking it constantly.

Facebook became big when I was finishing high school and it's gradually played more of a dominant role in my life since.

Just lately, I have been realising the mental drain social media is having on me and how much I am letting it affect my life.

There is so much negativity on social media, particularly on Facebook, as keyboard warriors post hurtful comments with no fear of being confronted in real life.

It's like anything really; people are more likely to make an effort to complain when they don't like something than when they do.

I haven't been attacked directly by any means but constantly reading people's negative comments on posts relating to all kinds of topics is starting to take its toll, I think.

One thing is clear; we need more positivity on social media and to not let it play such a dominant role in our lives.

I for one will be boycotting Facebook this week, outside of work duties, to see if it changes my mindset at all.

I invite you to try it for a week along with me and let me know how you go.

I'll be interested to see if the experiment achieves anything.