Social Media Detox

For the month of February–and even going into March now–I decided to take a hiatus from social media. A Social Media Detox if you will. This was something I had been planning for some time, noticing that I was becoming increasingly addicted to social media on a daily basis. I would wake up and instantly go to Instagram before I even got out of bed. I was obsessively checking notifications for Facebook after I made a post to see who liked it. It was time I took a break.

Additionally, with the flood of news information over the past month in general it was hard not to feel anxious with how to process all I was seeing or reading about politically. Regardless of your political stance, how we receive news stories has become overwhelming in the past decade alone. 

We can see a news report story on one channel, read an article about it, watch more versions on Youtube, see other people’s opinions (some credible and some not) on all the different social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, etc. that it becomes nearly impossible to digest all of those sources in one sitting.

Then, we may get sucked into trying to find some sort of relief or distraction because it’s too much to think about the heavy topics for too long. It hurts our brains and makes us feel helpless. We find ourselves stuck scrolling through mindless videos of people doing pranks, baking cakes, or just taping themselves doing something stupid. We can end up wasting a lot of time staring at a screen essentially. 

So during the past several weeks of no social media (with a few exceptions logging into my computer to share a blog post), I noticed a few things about myself emotionally and mentally that I wanted to share for anyone who may be feeling like they are due for a break from social media. It feels like a sense of isolation to a degree since our society has so much shifted into the world of technology. It almost feels as if you are losing contact with people even if you were only connecting via the comment section.

That initial few days after deleting the apps off my phone, I was thinking about social media daily. It felt like I was going through a withdrawal, like I didn’t know what to do with myself or my time. I was mentally fighting urges to log into my accounts on my computer and struggling to find suitable distractions. I still had YouTube on my phone and noticed that I was now shifting to watching YouTube Shorts instead of Facebook reels. 

After about 5-10 days, I started to shift into journaling daily, aiming to read a chapter a day, exercising more, crocheting to stay busy with my hands, and my husband and I got back into outdoor activities like mountain biking and playing disc golf. I knew I needed something more engaging mentally and physically because I was so attached to watching short stimulating videos for hours a day.

Some of the benefits I have noticed with not having access to social media at my fingertips is that I am able to stay more in the present moment. My thought patterns have more clarity to them and I am able to pull myself out of that “stuck” feeling  more easily which helps me feel more productive overall. I don’t take my phone everywhere with me, even if it’s driving up the road. I don’t feel that overwhelming sense to stare at Facebook while waiting for something and can practice being mindful of my surroundings. Time slows down when we are able to just sit in the present moment.

Another positive I have seen within myself is that I was less stressed overall. Don’t get me wrong, it didn’t rid my life of stressors. But I noticed that I was able to cope with stressful situations in a healthier way. I realized how much I was procrastinating during the day and then feeling rushed to finish tasks in the evening to make up for lost time scrolling. It heightened my anxiety almost daily and left me feeling frozen around bedtime.

Now that it’s been over a month since I deleted social media off my phone, I notice I rarely think about it. I will opt into reading, crocheting, or journaling over watching something on TV. I find myself feeling more productive and centered throughout each day. To be honest, I am not even sure I will download Facebook back onto my phone. I view Instagram as more of a marketing tool for my business, sharing supportive tips and knowledge for anybody searching my page.

Moving forward, I definitely want to establish some boundaries for myself when reintroducing social media back into my life. I think it is extremely healthy to set limits for ourselves, when possible, for behaviors we know are unhealthy in our lives. This may look like exploring what a healthy relationship with social media entails, being more mindful of my emotional cues that I am seeking a distraction from life, and being more proactive overall with taking care of my mental health.

There are days where life is too much and we just need to “veg out”, scroll mindlessly, or watch  a comfort sitcom TV show for a few hours.  But that shouldn’t be the norm. Those behaviors are ways we are conditioning ourselves to escape reality, feeling more detached from ourselves and the people around us in the long run. 

Some boundaries I want to set moving forward, and what I would encourage you to do as a reader who is interested in detoxing from social media, including the following:

• Be more aware of emotional triggers or feelings of detachment. Use that time to practice grounding and centering yourself into the present moment.

• Reach out to friends and family via text or phone call more often. Stop relying only on social media posts to get life updates. Be more proactive and involved!

• Take more breaks to get outdoors throughout each day (especially as it starts warming up) even if it’s only for 5 minutes of sunshine and fresh air.

• Do hobbies or activities daily that don’t involve a screen to work on rewiring our brains to seek more fulfilling engagement out of life.

• Set limitations around time spent on social media. Whether this is one day out of the week, taking a whole week off a month in general, or deleting certain apps off your phone. Find ways to hold yourself accountable.

Personally, I knew I needed a drastic change and to challenge myself mentally. I used this past month as a reset for myself to reconnect with what truly matters in my life. When we push our limits, we can embrace some amazing changes in our lives. Everyone is deserving of inner peace and feeling more in control of your emotions.

I encourage you to reflect on how much of an impact social media has on your mental health and begin to identify ways you may need to implement some boundaries!