“It’s a trap, it’s a game, you’re a rat on a hamster wheel. I finally realised, why am I so worried about other people’s lives when I’m literally so unhappy myself?

“I deleted the apps… the other reason I deleted them is because I liked the idea of being a mystery, I liked the idea of disappearing from the internet and reinventing myself.”

Matt explained that he’s a ‘way better version of [himself]’ these days, adding: “As soon as I deleted social media, there were no negatives. You will not find a single person tell you that when they deleted social media, their life got worse.”

The YouTuber went on to explain all the big changes he noticed when he finally quit the apps for good.

No more FOMO

Matt explained after he gave up social media he was finally able to focus on himself and ‘killed the FOMO’ – AKA fear of missing out.

“I got rid of the fear, who cares what other people are doing? I didn’t mind being alone anymore,” he said.

“I’m more worried about what I’m doing and what I’m going to accomplish. I genuinely don’t care what other people are doing.”

Matt explained that if you don’t want to delete your accounts completely, it might be worth having a month off to experience the benefits.

More time

Matt believes social media is ‘an addiction’ and claims he’s ‘finally free’ of constantly checking his phone, which has ultimately given him loads more spare time.

“I’m free from that,” he said.

“My screen time is so low. What is so attractive about your phone now? Not much, there’s nothing on your phone.

“… I’m so much happier for it… It’s a waste of time, a distraction to keep you stuck, to keep you addicted.”

Matt deleted social media in 2020 (Getty Stock Photo)

Boosts mental health

Matt says he’s noticed a huge improvement in his mental health and happiness since he quit the apps.

“It improves your mental health because you’re not always dialled into your phone, you’re just focused on you and how you can better yourself,” he said.

“That’s all you should be focused on.”

Over the last few years, research has indicated that quitting social media can hugely benefit your mental health.

A 2022 study asked 154 participants to stop using social media for a week. Those that did reported significantly reduced anxiety and depression as well as overall greater wellbeing.

Validation

Matt believes after he deleted social media, he found himself no longer seeking validation.

“I was no longer living for other people or going places with the intent of ‘oh I’ve got to find a cool Instagram picture’ so people will like me,” he explained.

Matt recalled that when he was younger, he’d been to a Celtics game where he sat courtside, but instead of enjoying the game, he spent the whole time trying to work out ‘how to get a cool picture’.

“You stop living for other people and seeking so much validation,” he added.

“It helped me, it changed me and bettered my life completely.”

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Getty Stock Photos

Topics: YouTube, Social Media

Do you ever get the urge to stick some of your possessions in a box, bury it and then come back many years later to dig it all up again?

If so, you might want to invest in a time capsule and cross your fingers for good health in the years to come.

We sometimes don’t realise how much the world around us has changed in recent times until we unearth a little pocket of what it used to be like.

For one man who buried his time capsule back in the year 2000, opening it up again 25 years later is a veritable trip down memory lane to what things were like at the turn of the millennium.

Back in the late 90s, Crayola (yes, the crayon people) sold a plastic time capsule which people could fill with belongings, stash somewhere and then crack open years later

One of the people who did this was Dylan Schrader, who posted the contents of his capsule on social media 25 years on from when he first sealed it up.

He explained that he initially intended to bury it but never got round to doing that, and at many points in the past two-and-a-half decades thought about either chucking it away or opening it up but patience won out in the end.

The first things he pulled out of his time capsule were late 90s pamphlets about AIDS, abstinence, HIV, alcohol and drugs, with the abstinence pamphlet seeming to point the finger of blame for the fall of the Roman Empire towards a population decline caused by a lack of sex.

Also in the capsule were family photos, a floppy disk, an advert for Pokémon themed sweets and an old coin from 1877.

Dylan also found a button from when his mum ran to be on the board of his school along with that staple of the 90s, Pog

He also included a Walmart receipt from 3 January, 2000, and apparently if you went to the US 25 years ago, you could buy a small slushie for 88 cents or a large one for $1.08.

Presumably the amount it costs for either drink these days is a depressingly higher amount.

Dylan also discovered a tape he’d recorded for his future self, though since the time capsule didn’t come with a tape player he had to put in some effort to find out what message he’d wanted to leave himself.

He later tweeted that: “It starts with reading from a Calvin and Hobbes strip, continues with references to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a poem (?) by me (?), musings on the future, and then into a song by Alanis Morissette.”