🌀 Breathing of Avoidance: Third Form | [SNS Edition] Mental Distance to 'Stay Unhurt' and 'Avoid Getting Involved'

🕒 Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

📚 Social media is not a place to 'go and see,' but a place where you have the 'freedom not to look.'

1 Why does social media create 'quiet stress'?

Social media is a place where“highlight reels of others' best moments”are constantly flowing.

• A mysterious sense of defeat at others' success reports

• Feeling inferior when comparing yourself...

• Seeing controversial posts you don't want to see

• Feeling uneasy because of few 'likes'

This is caused by psychological effects such as“negativity bias (the tendency to be drawn to negative information)”and
“lowered self-evaluation through comparison.”This is the cause.

2 The 'freedom not to look' is wisdom for protecting your heart

We tend to think that“looking is natural,”but social media should not be a place to 'go and see,' but rather
“a place where you have the freedom not to look.”

• Turn off notifications

• Unfollow or mute

• Keep your 'distance' from people who tire you out

These are not acts of coldness, butbreathing techniques for self-defense.

3 Practice 1: Avoidance-style SNS Design Techniques

The trick to preventing SNS fatigue lies in "finding ways to keep things out of your sight."

✅ 3 quick and easy tips
・Use a time-limiting app to visualize your usage time
・Turn off notifications to break your brain's "habit of reacting"
・Choose which accounts to view (limit them to only those that provide healing, learning, or laughter)

By doing this, you can break free from the "feeling of your mind being controlled by your smartphone."

What I practice is the simple rule of "not looking at Facebook on my smartphone." Just by intentionally viewing it through a web browser on my PC, my mental stability has improved significantly.

A smartphone is a "habitual device" that makes you open apps unconsciously. On the other hand, a PC is a "device of choice" for "checking things when you're slightly curious."
Even with the same Facebook, just changing the way you access it completely changes how you maintain your mental space.

✅ Avoidance-style SNS Design Techniques

4 Practice 2: Avoidance-style Posting Stance

Even as the person posting, your heart can get worn down.

"No reaction," "being ignored," "not as viral as before"...
That is caused by a structure that relies on the reactions of others.

✅ 3 Rules for Avoidance-style SNS Posting

1. Clarify "who it is for" (= It's okay if it's just for your own records)

2. Do not expect reactions (= It's fine if no one sees it)

3. Do not post on days when your emotions are unstable (= Focus on "breathing" on those days)

A quick break: Recommended items

[SNS Detox x Creating a Healing Time]
<<MUJI Ultrasonic Aroma Diffuser>>
📌 From "viewing" to a space for "taking deep breaths." Put your smartphone away and reset your mood with fragrance. Use rosemary or lavender scents to turn off your sympathetic nervous system.

📵 ④ [Notification Shutdown]
《Silent Pouch for Smartphones (Signal Blocking Bag)》
📌 Forcibly create a 'no notification' state. For those who 'still check even after turning off notifications.' A parting-ways item where 'once you put your phone in, it's over.'

5 Practice ③: Don't miss the signs of 'SNS fatigue'

If you recognize any of the following symptoms, it's time to rethink your distance from SNS.

• Endlessly scrolling before bed

• Opening SNS immediately after waking up

• Reacting excessively to other people's posts

• Feeling down after over-analyzing comments

• Feeling like 'no one understands me'

These are 'signs of mental burnout'. The first step begins with turning your smartphone face down.

6 SNS is not 'part of reality,' but an 'edited world'

The 'perfect daily life' of someone you see on SNS might be a 'performance' with a filter applied.

Therefore, you don't have to force yourself to equate it with reality.

7 Summary: Breathing of Avoidance practiced on SNS

• The essence of SNS is a 'world of comparison'

• 'Sense' the precursors of stress and keep your distance

• Value the 'freedom not to see' more than the freedom to see

• Switch your posts to 'content that doesn't need a reaction'

This is the Breathing of Avoidance series

8 Finally: Recommended Books

🧠 For those who want to know their own heart | Exploring self-understanding and the true nature of emotions
"Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ"
A book that focuses on EQ, the intelligence that turns emotions into "allies" rather than "enemies." To avoid being swallowed by the waves of emotion caused by social media, let's put the "emotional patterns" inside ourselves into words.

🚧 Building a self that isn't swayed by SNS | Learning mental boundaries
"How to Set Healthy Boundaries in Relationships"
"Mental boundary setting" to protect yourself without being swayed by others. "Boundaries" are the techniques for saying NO to unreasonable expectations and demands, and valuing your own time and emotions.

💨 Practicing the "freedom not to look" | Digital Minimalism
"Digital Minimalism"
A strategic book for redesigning not just "turning off notifications" or "choosing who to look at," but your very engagement with social media. It is packed with hints for reclaiming "breathing space" for modern people.

🌿 Dialogue with yourself over others' approval | Rethinking the "meaning" of SNS posts
"The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"
Just as you let go of physical objects, you can also let go of "excessive expectations" and the "habit of comparison" on social media. For things that don't spark joy, gently say "thank you" and distance yourself.

📵 To gently break free from SNS addiction | How to deal with your smartphone
"The Hacked Brain"
The reason you can't stop looking at social media is a "trap" in the brain's structure. This book explains that mechanism from a scientific perspective and gives hints on the "distance" needed to protect your mental health.

🧘‍♀️ Mindfulness practice book to regulate your heart's breathing
"Search Inside Yourself"
"Mental training" developed by a former Google engineer to avoid being swallowed by waves of emotion. It is perfect for acquiring the skill to "savor and let go" of the stimuli received from social media.