Why Ed Sheeran’s Quitting Social Media
“I find myself seeing the world through a screen and not my eyes…” (Photo: Getty Images)
Ask any teenager in America, calling it quits with social media is essentially social suicide. But when you’re Ed Sheeran, disconnecting with your social accounts is probably the best thing you could do for yourself, especially when you’ve been living life in the public eye for so long.
The British celebrity decided to break the news to all 5.5 million of his Instagram followers in a post.
Then, Sheeran tweeted to his 16.1 million Twitter followers that he was “buggering off for awhile,” and reposted his instagram photo in an attempt to reiterate his leave of absence. For such a high profile celebrity, his presence in the social media space is widely felt, and his fans are already feeling his absence.
Related: What His Social Media Habits Say About Your Relationship
Sites such as Facebook have been found to feed anxiety and elevate a person’s feeling of inadequacy, with a study commissioned by Anxiety UK concluding that pressure from technology makes people feel insecure and more overwhelmed.
Even worse, the site might even have the ability to make users just generally miserable, simply because the emotional investment with social media is so high.Researchers from the University of Michigan conducted a study and lead researcher, Ethan Kross, social psychologist at the University of Michigan to conclude, “On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection. But rather than enhance well-being, we found that Facebook use predicts the opposite result – it undermines it.”
Nicole Amesbury, a licensed therapist and the Head of Clinical Development at Talkspace (a platform that offers social media dependency therapy) agrees with this sentiment, especially when it comes to celebrities. “For some celebrities, participating in social media has an isolating effect. Even though they may be interacting with millions of fans, they can feel incredibly detached and lonely,” explains Amesbury. “It may feel like your image is a product to be bought and sold, which can be very dehumanizing.”
Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat, the increasing pressure to be your best self on these accounts has people crazed, so you can only imagine the pressure that celebrities with millions of followers must feel.
Related: What Facebook’s Doing to Help Prevent Suicide
Although Sheeran promises his social media hiatus won’t be permanent (he claims to be rejoining next Autumn), we hope it gives him the release and freedom he’s looking for. By disconnecting to such a large network, he won’t be under such a microscope, with every move, decision, and activity documented. Instead, he’ll be able to live freely for the time being, without being bombarded by all the inevitable stress factors that accompany social media.
Read This Next: 4 Lessons I Learned From a Full Month Off Social Media
Let’s keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Health on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
