Why Social Media Makes it Hard to Rest

*bell rings*

“Finally, I studied so hard today. I deserve a break.”

It gradually becomes a cause-and-effect mindset for the young generation to take a rest as a reward.

When I was about 10, breaks between classes were the best thing ever (it still is) since they meant extra playful minutes besides other fun hours. However, as we grew up, especially Vietnamese children, we were taught that fun was only allowed if all of our work was done properly.

This way of thinking dates way back to when our parents’ generation was obsessed with keeping scores and building a wall of achievement for their children. If the child next door was studying, there would be no chance for us to play.

But technology accelerated this perception more than ever.

Social media gives the world access to individuals’ own worlds, where everyone seems to be doing something all the time. With the Internet, we don’t need our parents anymore to inform us that everyone else is working, but proactively bring pressure on ourselves to catch up with the world.

We tend to only post the bright side of the matter on these platforms, but most of us, being aware of this, still reflect on our failures or things we haven’t done while on others’ profiles. This behavior generates an urge to constantly be busy, making rest a luxury.

I was not an exception. I view sitting in front of the TV, enjoying my favorite snacks, and doing nothing as a reward after finishing all my to-dos. It triggers me whenever I want to take a break while my work is only half-done, just like having candy in the middle of the family dinner, lovely yet guilty.

Only when there is something worth sharing

do we think we are worth resting.

It was a topic of my interest for a long time now, and I was lucky to address it with many of my friends. Fortunately, I’ve got a talent for small talk that can accelerate quite quickly to deep conversations. Many of my friends shared mutual thoughts on this topic, agreeing taking breaks is the best feeling, yet we youngsters aren’t willing to spend much time on that. But there was one mindset I successfully dug during one of those in-depth talks that can turn this situation to a brighter side.

“Let’s view taking breaks as a necessity”

What she meant was that breaks are not supposed to be rewards, they should be the indispensable pieces that make us ourselves. It is hard to accomplish a thing if there is no energy driving the journey. If it requires finishing a task to have a rest, many tasks will need to be revisited because they were done out of fatigue and unconsciousness.

Therefore, there is no point in limiting ourselves from bettering ourselves with necessary breaks.

Or the most valid reason to take breaks is that we’d like to. It boosts our mood, clears up the fog in our heads, and makes life a better place. People want and need to rest whenever and however they feel like it.

(Just don’t ghost people too many times, and you’re good to go!)

Briefly saying, the young are the most self-aware generation. They know what they want in life and how to address their problems, so taking breaks should also be under their control. If others are the baseline for every resting decision, it would be hard to be in control of other aspects. So…

Take the lead, take the break! ;)