There’s a lot we can gain by being on social media. However, there are a lot of social media detox benefits.
Recently, I took a few days away from social media. What exactly does this mean? Well, I didn’t open the apps of Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, which are my usual go-to instant social platforms. Instead, I used the time I would spend on each app working on my brand, resting, and finding out what needs to go in my life.
Why did I take a social media detox?
If you have an iPhone, there’s a recent feature added that gives you a phone usage report. I noticed a massive increase in my time on my device, and the leading apps I spent my time on was social media platforms. Honestly, the percentage of time spent on each app was embarrassing. Yes, since my career is in media, I spend a lot of time on social media looking for news stories, engaging in content discussion, etc. And, I could’ve used this as an excuse for the amount of time spent. But, being honest with yourself is a part of growing. So, I knew I had a real issue.
Since I intend on improving my life this year, I was aware that this detox was imperative, and I was ready to make a change.
Here’s what I learned during my social media detox
I regained the urge to go out and have fun.
In just those few days, I felt the urge to go out into the real world and enjoy the beautiful streets of my city. Social media took up a lot of my time, which eventually made me lazy. I didn’t want to go anywhere after finishing my homework or articles, but somehow I found the strength to tweet an unhealthy amount of times.
I love baking as a hobby.
My sister and I went to the grocery store with my new spare time and purchased every ingredient we needed for making cookies from scratch. We even ordered custom aprons with our names on them. It was a breath of fresh air and an excellent way to bond with my sister. We’re planning to bake often!
I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes.
As a graduate student and journalist, the most accessible food option is fast food or something quickly put in the microwave. But, since I had some time to spare, I found myself on tasty searching up dinner recipes and cooking with my family.
This social media detox was well needed, and I plan on taking one often to enjoy real life more. What are your thoughts on social media detoxes?
Hey, you made it this far. Check out 5 Things To Do Instead of Being on Your Device
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Ugh, really need to get onto this myself! Those are great things you discovered about yourself too ☺️ My aim is to have 2 days off social media this month and am trying to be more conscious of my scrolling. I feel a lot calmer and grounded, more in the present I guess when I do this so am keen to make it more of a habit, even 10mins without my phone first thing in the morning 😅
Thank you so much, Chels! Picking up my phone first thing in the morning is also a habit I’m trying to get rid of. And, you’re right! Scrolling is very calming and takes little to no energy. I believe you can go 2 days without social media with no problem! Let me know how it goes! 🤗
I’ve been detoxing since 2017 for FB and 2019 for Instagram. I have no plans to return any time soon! When I left, nobody reached out so I figured they weren’t as good of friends as I thought they were. And to make matters worse, I mailed the “important ppl” my contact information and they still didn’t bother reaching out. That in itself is enough for me to throw in the towel. These “friendships” aren’t really friends. Social media makes it seem like they are.
Wow, I am aiming to be like you!! It’s a little hard since my career is based on digital media and everything has to be promoted on social media nowadays, but I’d really like to get to that point. And yes, I’ve learned last year that I take ‘friendships’ more seriously than others. If you have to constantly be the person to reach out, then they didn’t deserve to be your friend anyway! I’m sure you’re better off without them!