A Guide to Detoxing Social Media for the Chronically Online

Written By : Grace Weidenhamer

I’ve always been pro-social media. There truly are so many benefits: connecting with people you don’t see often, gathering inspiration for an upcoming project, discovering healthy recipes and lifestyle choices, and having a creating outlet.

I didn’t realize just how much I was using social media until the combination of being unemployed, transitioning into a job in social media, and trying to grow my personal platforms, literally became too much to handle.

I was spending all day online for my job, my personal social media felt more like a chore than a passion, and I felt myself constantly comparing my life to those I saw while scrolling. I wasn’t gaining new followers as quickly as I should be, I wasn’t running as fast as others training for a marathon, my home wasn’t aesthetic enough to create content in.

Instead of being a space to express myself creatively, it was becoming an energy drainer.

I needed a break. To figure out what I wanted my life to look like, not just what I thought it should.

For about two weeks, I’ve had a social media blocker on my phone, and it’s one of the best choices I’ve made.

I didn’t delete my apps for two reasons. First, I run my company's social media, so I need to have quick access at times. Second, I wanted to be able to still post my own content while limiting my scrolling.

So yes, I still have access to my social media in some capacity, but I have found that an extra barricade makes me stop and think about why I’m opening the app. Whereas before, I would subconsciously open Instagram and scroll until I realized what I was doing 10 minutes later.

Whether you delete your apps completely, deactivate your accounts, throw your phone into the nearest body of water, or just have an app-limiter downloaded, anything is better than nothing. Throwing yourself off your habitual behavior when it comes to your phone will help you realize how much you actually use social media, and at what times you reach for it.

Here’s a few tips when going on a social media detox:

• ●  You have to want to do it. Just like quitting anything, you have to actively choose to do it

  because you want to, not because you feel like you should. You won’t stick to it unless

  you truly believe you want to change.

• ●  Strike a balance. Like I said, I didn’t fully get rid of the apps, just limited the amount I can

  use them. With this flexibility, I haven’t “relapsed” and thrown my detox plan out the window. I’ve actually gone multiple days without using certain apps and have realized how much I actually don’t care to use them.

• ●  Fill your time with other activities. Stock up on books, make a new playlist, invest in a hand-on hobby. The bulk of my doomscrolling happens when I’m waiting for something - a meeting to start at work, for dinner to be ready, in my car before an appointment, or even on commercial breaks while watching tv. Have other things at your disposal to reach for instead of your phone.

• ●  Tell people what you’re doing. If you’re anything like me, you tend to be a little too forgiving to yourself. But, if someone else knows my new lifestyle goals, I will feel more guilty if they catch me scrolling. Have other people in your life help keep you accountable.

  So what have I learned so far? It hasn’t been a long experiment thus far, but I have noticed a few changes.

  I'm not screen-free, so if I am on my phone or computer, I mainly spend that time researching things I’m interested in. I’ve been watching a lot of documentaries and educational videos about my interests. I’ve been reading more books and Substack articles (I still want to be relevant). I’m more focused at work and at home. I have more space in my brain. I’m thinking more deeply about one topic, rather than skimming through a million different ones.

  I already feel a little happier from not constantly comparing my life. I feel less pressure about what I should be posting and at what frequency. I feel less pressure to do everything right now. I’m trying to be intuitive and figure out what I actually like... what I actually want.

  I thought I would have FOMO from not checking social media every day. I thought I would miss out on what my peers are up to or the latest meme (that sounded really millennial) but in reality, I actually don’t care. Not that I don’t care about what my friends are up to, but if it’s important, I’ll learn about it straight from them! This may be shocking, but I think that may actually make me feel more connected to them...

  No matter how you approach your detox, at the end of the day, you have to give yourself grace. You are going to slip up sometimes, you are probably going to fail in one way or another. This is less about accomplishing a 30-day streak and more about creating a sustainable lifestyle free from the burdens of doomscrolling.