I quit Facebook and Instagram and there’s a BIG reason why you should too

A MILLENNIAL has shared reasons he quit social media after almost two decades on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

In a post on his website, finance blogger Jeff Cooper credited rampant misinformation and cyberbullying for driving his drastic decision.

GettyFacebook and Instagram are coming under escalating pressure from regulators[/caption]

The detrimental effect of social media apps on the mental health of their users is another reason he decided to jump ship.

“I’ll tell you right now, I don’t miss it, not even a little bit,” the 38-year-old wrote last month.

Jeff, who writes the blog Have Your Dollars Make Sense, was in college when Facebook took off in the late 2000s.

It was a great way to meet single women, he said, though over the years it and other social media apps have taken over our lives.

“As the years have passed, Facebook and other social media juggernauts have morphed into far more,” he said.

“Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of good social media can do, but as the days pass, it only seems that the bad is far outweighing the good.”

To back up his claims, the father-of-two cited scientific studies that have shown that social media use can cause or amplify depression, loneliness and anxiety.

Bullying that may otherwise be happening in school is now also allowed to flourish online, he added.

Misinformation and conspiracy theories on topics such as Covid-19 vaccinations are allowed to thrive on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

According to Jeff, the primary issue with social media is that it forces us to compare ourselves to the “highlight reels” others post of their lives.

“Whatever the occasion, we are bombarded by the best of other people’s lives and trying not to compare it to our day-to-day lives,” he wrote. “This can make it incredibly difficult to enjoy ourselves.

“The constant need to see how many likes a pic got, or how many comments people faking to care are is not healthy for our psyche in any way shape, or form.”

The blogger urged readers to leave behind their social media accounts in order to lead happier lives.

Even if you can’t go “cold turkey” with all of them, shutting down some of your accounts or cutting the time you spend on them could benefit you.

“Trust me, you’ll be happier if you do,” Jeff said.

“I can probably count on one hand how many times over the past decade that I thought a social media account would be useful and the feeling was fleeting.”

HOW TO DEACTIVATE YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT

Deactivating your Facebook account is easy and takes just a few seconds. Here’s what you need to do.

Log in to your Facebook accountClick the small down arrow located in the upper right-hand corner of your Facebook homepageFind ‘Settings’ and click on itHover over ‘Manage Account’ and click on ‘Edit’Click on ‘Deactivate your account’ at the bottom of the opened tabComplete the form and click ‘Deactivate’ at bottom of the page

If you change your mind and want to reactivate your Facebook account, all you have to do is log back into Facebook with your details.

Your profile and account will be restored and you will not have lost anything.

HOW TO PERMANENTLY DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT

If you want to permanently delete Facebook, the social network has a page dedicated to the process.

There is no going back from permanently deleting Facebook though, so it is a good idea to back up all of your data first.

This means that if you decide you want Facebook back in the future, you will not have lost all of your photos, contacts, and other information.

Follow these easy steps to download your Facebook data.

Click the down arrow at the top right of any Facebook page and select SettingsClick “Download a copy of your Facebook data” at the bottom of the General Account SettingsClick Start My Archive

To delete Facebook once and for all, simply head over to Facebook’s ‘Delete Account’ page and follow the instructions provided.

Your archive will probably be very large, as it includes posts, comments, photos, messages, and much more.

Because this download includes all of your profile information, it’s important to keep it secure, as it could potentially be used by fraudsters if it fell into the wrong hands.

You can find a full list of the information available to download on Facebook’s FAQ page.

In other news, personalised smart guns, which can be fired only by verified users, may finally become available to U.S. consumers this year.

Scientists are embarking on a mission to unravel the mystery behind dozens of grisly child mummies buried in an underground tomb in Sicily.

Police have caught an Italian mafia henchman who’d be on the run for 20 years after spotting the fugitive on Google Maps.

And, one of the best-preserved fossils ever found has confirmed that young dinosaurs burst from their shells just like baby birds.

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