If you’re like me, you may have started to notice you spend an awful lot of time online and on your phone. For some people being on social media is a very hard habit to kick. I’m not suggesting getting rid of social media entirely, (I love Instagram way too much for that!) But sometimes it’s good to take a break. It’s well known the negative impacts social media can have on our mental health and how we view ourselves, so why not take a little break every now and then and come back in a clearer head space?
I’ll be honest, I had absolutely no intention of stopping my social media usage until a friend of mine suggested we both go one full month without logging on to any social media sites. The idea wasn’t to avoid the internet all together but to stay off sites like Facebook ,Instagram , Twitter, Reddit, etc. When I would check the screen time app on my iPhone, it routinely told me I had spent over eight hours per day on my phone, yikes!
So how do you start a social media detox of your own?
- Delete the apps
Most of the time we aren’t even aware that we’ve clicked on the app before it’s too late and we’ve been scrolling through our feeds for who knows how long. I myself find I’m constantly flipping through apps without even noticing. If you delete the app off your phone you don’t have to worry about accidentally clicking on it and ruining your progress. This also holds you more accountable if you do decide to go back on the app, you have to physically download it again and sign back in. Deleting the app gets rid of some of the temptation but you’ll be surprised how much you still go to click on it even when it’s not there.
2. Try to spend more time off your phone or computer so you’re not thinking about the things you might be missing online.
FOMO is real! During the first few days of deleting my Instagram I could feel myself worrying about if I was missing out on information or photos of my friends. I still used my phone quite regularly and it make things really difficult. I realized that I spend more time on my phone in general than I was comfortable with, So along with not being on social media I found it helpful to spend minimal amounts of time on my phone as well. I didn’t avoid my phone at all, especially since it’s my only means of communication right now, but I made the effort to intentionally put it down in a different room and only come back to check on it periodically. The difference this made for my day to day life has been huge.
3. Do the things you’ve been meaning to do that you normally don’t have time for.
Without my phone to slow me down, I’ve found a very large chunk of time I have to be productive. I’ve been able to do all my errands that I leave myself for the week in only a day or two, leaving me with several hours per day I can spend on whatever I want. It felt really boring at first as I had absolutely no idea what to do with myself, I essentially gained six hours per day of free time! Crazy I know. This has allowed me to spend more time outside and I’ve been able to spend much more time on personal projects like reading and music.
Those are some of my tips for a social media detox. I’m only about half way through my one month, so i’ll be sure to update once I’ve actually completed it. Have you done a social media detox? How did you feel after? or are you planning to do a detox? Tell me everything in the comments below!
