Do you need to do Dry-fi January?

Forget ditching the booze – it’s social media that we really need to detox from. But how?

For some, the urge to turn over a new leaf this year is manifesting not in yet another attempt to lay off the booze, meat or chocolate – but social media.

Like other addictive pleasures, receiving validation in the form of “likes” on social media triggers a dopamine rush in users.

As Adam Alter, author of Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked,

notes, “It’s a little bit like taking a drug. As far as your brain is concerned, it’s a very similar experience.” Indeed, the University of Chicago found social media to be even more addictive than cigarettes. Perhaps one day, constant browsing will be equally frowned upon as a dirty habit doing untold damage to our health.

Last year’s #Statusofmind survey, published by the Royal Society for Public Health, found a link between social media use and increases in anxiety, depression and poor sleep. Even Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chief executive, felt the need to take a 10-day break at the end of the year.

So here, two of our writers explain why they’re joining those attempting a Dry-fi January.