For 2020 I decided to challenge myself to try something new every month. Everything from Yoga everyday to no sugar for a month. In July I tried to go without Social Media. I uninstalled Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and Instagram. I allowed myself FB Messenger as that's how I keep in touch with family and friends. I allowed Twitch and Youtube as I use those as learning resources.
Every week I wrote down my experience as follows.
First 24h
First 24h without social media. I already feel my mind being less cluttered. I'm experimenting with other things to do instead of scrolling when I'm bored. I spent 2 hours commuting yesterday so I listened to 2 podcasts during that time and looked at people looking at their phones in slight awe.
First 3 days
I don't miss it as much as I thought I would. I haven't found myself "craving" it or anything... yet! I think I feel less stress because I have so much time to do other things now when I don't have that option available to pass time whenever I want. I listen to podcasts and lay puzzles on jigsawpuzzles.io a lot more which also decreases my stress.
First week
I've now gone a full week without social media \o/ The benefits are still stacking while the dreaded drawbacks remain unnoticeable.
Benefits:
- Clearer Mindspace, I feel my mind is not as cluttered with various topics I would've usually gathered throughout a normal day from Social media. This helps me fall asleep much faster, I feel less stressed overall and more focused.
- Time saving, I used to spend a couple hours a day scrolling social media. That's now time I've taken to reading, playing games with friends, going for walks, playing with my cats etc. Activities which typically also make me more relaxed. ++
Drawbacks:
- FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out. I thought this was going to be my biggest upset with this challenge. The thing is, if you don't know what's going on it's hard to feel FOMO. Generally speaking I think I felt more FOMO while on Social Media because then you compare yourself to others and their activities all the time. So I can almost add this back to the benefit side at this point.
2nd week
It has come to a point where I don’t think about it at all anymore. Sometimes I catch myself wanting to share a fun photo I’ve taken to Instagram but I end up sending it via Messenger to whomever I thought might enjoy it which usually sparks a brief conversation which has been nice.
I’m still feeling the same as the first week, no huge difference but still feeling more relaxed and laid back. The 1st week of vacation could also have contributed to this and I managed to catch a cold with a sore throat and headaches which put me in bed for 3 days. Without social media my sick days were spent watching tons of documentaries. Felt that I was more focused watching those than usual since I typically distract myself with social media browsing. Not anymore!
Last day
So this month has been everything I didn’t expect it to be. I’ve done monthly challenges this whole year with the goal to challenge myself into better habits. The social media month is one I’ve been dreading the most. I went into it thinking I would feel left out and lonely. How many things would I miss out on because I wasn’t reading on my social media platforms?
Turns out, nothing.
I mean probably something but nothing that I’m aware of.
And that’s the thing. You don't experience fomo when you don’t know what’s going on. The upside has made me feel less stressed and my mind has felt at ease, which has been a great feeling throughout this month.
Summary
This whole month has been great and I haven’t missed social media at all really. I’ve had more time for important stuff instead of stressing about what everyone else is doing all the time.
I will probably continue to minimize my social media consumption, maybe only allow myself on the weekends or so, if I feel like it.
I recommend everyone who feels like they’re spending too much time on their Instagram or Facebook or TikTok to try uninstalling everything from your phone for at least a week. It will be worth it!
Top comments (32)
You've inspired me! Today I tweeted and posted an ig story to let people know I'm taking the week (at least) off! I've been long overdue for a cleanse; I feel like my doom scrolling has increased since the pandemic started, and I want to create newer, better habits.
Awesome to hear! Best of luck 😄
I deleted my Facebook account years ago because it just felt like a toxic environment and back then they had all of those data leaks of users data too. I do have a new Facebook account now but I only use it for talking to friends on Facebook Messenger. I would be keen to try a social media detox at some point but first I would need to complete the #100DaysOfCode challenge :)
I also use social media for getting news updates but considering how negative this year is (coronavirus) it would be better to just take a break from it all.
Focus on one thing at a time sounds great! I did a code everyday challenge back in May and it felt very taxing so I can't imagine 100 days! (It was also my most productive month so I don't regret it 😄 )
For news I started a subscription on a news paper that I read a couple times a week to stay up to date on the most important things.
Being forced to code for at least 1 hour a day for 100 days is pretty exhausting I am on day 60. However my programming has improved and I have created new projects which never would have happened. Prior to starting the challenge I was barely doing any coding and I felt demotivated because of covid...
I suppose that getting news from one source must really cut down on all that noise that comes from getting news from multiple news networks it gets overwhelming.
Awesome write up! I started uninstalling different social media apps because of privacy concerns, and just because I don't like feeling addicted to anything. Twitter was my main social media app and I deleted it off my phone two months ago. The first two days I'd find myself clicking on where it used to be in my phone home screen 😂 but now I go hours without thinking to check it. I only use it on my laptop's browser which really limited the time.
People love to ask me what I do if I'm not scrolling on social media!
Thank you and Great job!
My greatest hope was that less social media scrolling would = more productivity. But nah, I play video games and read books instead 😅
Still need to work on my productivity mindset, so what do you do? 😄
I’ve been reading A LOT and watching tv shows and movies as well. This is productivity in my book 😆 I’m also spending tons more time being present with my family. Only recently I started channeling my productivity into coding and side projects.
From a mental health perspective it's very much more productive, at least to me 😄
Great that you're finding times to spend with family in these pandemic times! Stay safe!
That’s right.
Thanks, you as well 🙌🏽
I have the opposite experience. I wake up in the morning and literally the first thing I can think of is Facebook or 9gag, its hard because I can feel it that there's something I should be doing that I'm not. The other day I found myselft unconsciously opening facebook on my browser and it hit me that Facebook's dopamine reward system has hit me hard.
But I'm going to hang in there wish me luck guys.
Literally me! Every morning before doing anything else I'd browse social media...
Best of luck!
I approve of this here scientific experiment, and I also encourage to remove social media from your life for as long as you live. 😂😅
BUT! if you are being paid to participate in social media, by all means, get that money. ofc... 🤑💸
Yea that's one thing, if it pays your bills then by all means it's probably worth the stress factors 😅
I deactivated my FB account about a year ago. Go on Twitter from time to time. I find it hard to connect people over electronic media; I prefer doing it offline because I can feel the emotions, or see reactions. But that's me.
Social media can be very useful from time to time, but like with many things we just need to learn to moderate. On the other had engineers need to do anything to keep us engaged, so that might be a constant battle that often we can only lose :)
I find it hard to deactivate FB for the sole reason that it's the only platform I have for event invitations from my family's birthdays and what not. It's becoming less and less so. So maybe I should just cut the cord really.
Baby Steps! I envy you!
Go on and pull the plunge! I did it a year ago and after a while, you realize you didn't need it. It brings your friends and family closer 'cause you'll be in contact through messaging.
Yea this is my experience as well (that you become closer through messaging interactions instead of broadcasting on FB walls).
I should!
It's been years since using the usual suspects which I do not miss one bit. dev.to is social media site as is the likes of fitness apps like Strava. Did you cut these out too?
I didn't cut them specifically, I didn't find them to be timesinks (an app I could scroll forever to no end).
I think dev.to is more of a learning platform with a side of social, at least to me.
Reddit is the one I debated the most but ended up cutting cause I mostly used it to endlessly scroll "entertainment" subs.
That makes sense. Mindful curation trumps a mindless cull every time :) Gotta' watch the creep though. That's kind of my approach to it anyway.
Haha this is not a challenge for me but the default. Although sometimes you do have to use a bit because others do... and that’s their only way of communication.
I want it to be my new default from here on out! I feel much better 😃
Good for you! I think you'd enjoy the book Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport. ;)
Sounds interesting! I added it to my Goodreads, thanks!
I really really want to deactivate Facebook but it’s the sole way I can reach several people in my family back in the states. Makes it pretty hard.
You and me both! That's why I think in the long run I'll just limit myself instead of cutting completely, but we'll see how it goes.
I was also on a "Month without social media". I am so enjoying this challenge that, I do this every month now. Its been 3 months without social media for me now. It's so peaceful and productive.
Awesome! I also enjoy the peace 100%