No social media today! How to have a SOCIAL MEDIA DETOX
We all know the benefits of having social media and not having it.
So, what this post won’t be is a list of pros and cons of social media.
Technology has become inextricably woven into our lives. We need it at work, in our social lives, for personal use – basically everywhere all the time.
And social media isn’t a bad thing; it allows you to connect with others, learn more about the world and find new opportunities.
<span data-contrast=”auto”>What’s bad is when you start feeling anxious without it. When you can’t bear to not take a photo of your meal before eating it. When the idea of not having your phone next to you makes you feel nervous. When you feel like there’s nothing else to do apart from scrolling on social media. When every time you use it, you feel worse after coming off it.
While researching for this post, I searched ‘no social media’ on Google and the following questions came up:
These ‘people also ask’ questions are representations of the way people feel without social media – anxious, confused, nervous.
But, society lived without social media at one point in time and of course, you can live without it now if you had to. (Not that I’m saying you have to or should, there should be a balance – as with everything in life! 🙂 )
How to have a social media detox
Stop using social media the moment you wake up
There are a lot of people who go on their phones before even getting out of bed.
The moment their eyelids open they search for their phone to see what the world is up to.
The morning is the best time of the day for you to get organised and plan your day.
Starting off your day by scrolling through other people’s lives, procrastinating, and possibly comparing yourself to other people before you can even brush your teeth is bad for your self-esteem and productivity.
Related:
How To Stop Comparing Yourself To Other People
How To Plan Your Day to Prioritise YOURSELF
Start A Good Habit Using The Habit Loop
The Realistic Morning Routine For Maximum Productivity
Set blocks of time where you don’t use social media
As with everything, you might have to take it slow at the beginning.
This detox isn’t just about not using social media for a day and then getting straight back to hours of scrolling the day after.
It is a lifestyle change that you will work on everyday so that you can make the most out of every day.
Set blocks of time in the day where you can’t use social media. This could be 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour or more.
Give yourself a rule in the morning and the evening. For example, you could do no social media until an hour after breakfast or no social media two hours before bed.
Once you’ve made these rules for yourself, be diligent and stick to them.
I guarantee you you will get so much more done!
Ask people to text you if they need you for something during your social media detox.
If social media is affecting your time management/ mental health, make your close ones aware that if you’re not responding on your apps straight away, it’s because you’re trying to use social media less.
Once you get off social media, you’ll notice how present you can be in your own life.
It might take some time but soon you’ll learn to appreciate the little things.
Take pictures of your day for yourself
Taking pictures used to be a way to preserve memories of the past so that you could look back and remember that time.
Nowadays, with the introduction of ‘stories,’ it is also used to show others what you’re doing with your day.
This makes it really easy for you to fall into the trap of only posting your life on your story because you want people to think you’re doing fun things all the time.
It also makes it easier for you to compare your life to others. This could lead to feelings of dissatisfaction, FOMO, anxiety, jealousy and the list goes on.
Sometimes, you might not even find it worthwhile to take a photo.
So during your detox, take pictures of whatever you’re doing for the sake of keeping them as your own personal memories, not for showing others.
Even after you’ve allowed yourself to go back on social media, do not post them.
It’s going to be hard but it’s well worth it as over time you’ll be doing things you genuinely enjoy rather than feeling the need to impress others through your posts/ stories.
Make a vision board
If you’re finding it difficult to do things in your time when you’re not using social media, create a vision board!
Search on Google or Pinterest for things that you are interested in and make a vision board/ collage out of those images.
Not only is this a fun activity that you can do but its a great way to learn about things you might be interested in doing later on.
In a sense, this becomes an identity-building experience. You will learn about your own interests (things you want to do and accomplish, places you want to go etc.) instead of looking at what other people are doing with their lives.
Here’s some ideas of what you can do during your social media detox:
SELF CARE IDEA (Part 1) – Find One That Suits Your Personality Type
SELF CARE IDEA (Part 2) – Find One That Suits Your Personality Type
Creative Hobbies For Adults That Will Take You Back To Your Childhood!
Journal Prompts For Self Love (18-WEEK CHALLENGE!)
Plan out your day
Don’t overwhelm yourself by making a jam-packed list with no breathing time.
Allow yourself to breathe and have time where you’re not really doing anything but staring into space.
This may sound really boring and a waste of time to you but having moments where you’re bored/ not thinking about anything can actually be really refreshing.
It allows you to take a step back from life and just be.
Encourage others to do it with you
If you’re seeing friends or spending time with family, encourage them to also get of their phones and be in the moment.
At first, it might be a little awkward but watch as your imagination figures out fun things to do and new conversations to talk about.
You might randomly have a pizza contest or talent show! How much more fun does that sound than all of you sitting in a room scrolling on your phones and not really speaking to each other?
Educate yourself
I’m sure everyone has watched this documentary already but if you haven’t – watch The Social Network (on Netflix).
Social media was first created as platforms for people to connect with each other and have positive interactions however, it has now become a space where your thoughts and actions can be controlled.
Sounds creepy, I know.
As well as this, educate yourself in other things that interest you. Eventually, you may find yourself wanting to learn more about these topics rather than scroll all day.
Because honestly? – scrolling on social media for hours is such a waste of time. Every minute that goes by, you are literally wasting your life.
If it is something you can manage, in the sense that it is just entertainment that you can use for like ten minutes at a time (and not throughout the whole day), then that should be the extent of it.
But if you scroll for hours and you find that social media keeps you not feeling satisfied whilst keeping you wanting more and you are hooked to it, then it is time to do a detox. Right now.
Every precious moment you have is a chance to do better, learn more and achieve your OWN goals and dreams.
All the amazing ideas you have, all the things you want to do – GO DO THEM!
Take control of your life and find out how focussing on your own life as opposed to others can be transformational.
KEY POINTS – How to have a SOCIAL MEDIA DETOX
- Starting off your day by scrolling through other people’s lives, procrastinating, and possibly comparing yourself to other people before you can even brush your teeth is bad for your self-esteem and productivity.
- Set blocks of time in the day where you can’t use social media. This could be 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour or more.
- Give yourself a rule in the morning and the evening. For example, you could do no social media until an hour after breakfast or no social media two hours before bed.
- If social media is affecting your time management/ mental health, make your close ones aware that if you’re not responding on you apps straight away, it’s because you’re trying to use social media less.
- During your detox, take pictures of whatever you’re doing for the sake of keeping them as your own personal memories, not for showing others.
- If you’re finding it difficult to do things in your time when you’re not using social media, create a vision board!
- Allow yourself to breathe and have time where you’re not really doing anything but staring into space.
- If you’re seeing friends or spending time with family, encourage them to also get of their phones and be in the moment.
- Educate yourself in other things that interest you. Eventually, you may find yourself wanting to learn more about these topics rather than scrolling all day.
