I think even using the word "detox" combined with "social media" is grounds for Schmitt's douche jar but here I am writing a blog post about it.
Most people who know me know how seriously I've always taken Lent (one of the only Catholic exercises I partake in) and this year, I decided to delete all social media apps from February 22nd - April 10th.
Over the past few years, I've seen lots of people warning their followers that they're "going on a social media detox" on Instagram and I've commended their decision to tune out of the online world but, in all honesty, scoffed at the fact that they needed to give a warning. I fully take back the scoff as I see now that perhaps it would have been kind to at least tell a few people I was logging off so that they didn't think I was ignoring their messages, event invitations, etc. So, to those who didn't know... I apologize!
Now, onto my discoveries during this "detox."
I've always prided myself on not being addicted to my phone/Instagram. I revel in the fact that I always "am where I am." (I accept that that statement makes me sound like the mum of a teenager.) You won't see me scrolling Instagram or TikTok when I'm in the company of anyone. I do take pride in this because it allows me to be aware of my surroundings (be it conversations, experiences, etc.) but it is also the way I like to show respect towards people. In other words, your company is enough to entertain me, I don't need to see what everyone else is doing.
That's not to say, however, that I haven't developed habits when I'm not in the company of friends or family. If there was ever a lull in my day, my brain and body's physical instinct would be to grab my phone and click on the pink and purple camera icon to see what was going on elsewhere. If I got up to go to the bathroom at work, the first thing I'd do when I got back to my desk was check Teams, check e-mail, check phone. And if all was caught up on those communication avenues, I'd check Instagram. Must. be. fully. caught. up. on. everything. If I was in a line at the store, pumping gas, waiting on almost anything my first action was more often than not to open Instagram and scroll.
In an effort to get control of this and spend my time more wisely, I decided to get rid of all the social apps (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook - yes, I still have Facebook.) All this to say, I fucking loved it.
I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did but truthfully, the freedom I felt from not having to check in with these apps was glorious. I found that my time on my phone was cut in half as I only used it for basic items (texts, emails, podcasts, music, taking photos/videos, weather, banking, and health apps) therefore eliminating all scrolling. I loved that I didn't feel this constant need to check on other platforms as a way of communication: if you want me, text me. If you have news, text me. If you want to shoot the shit, call me. It just felt genuinely simple.
I also really enjoyed taking photos and videos and not feeling like I had to share them with anyone online. If it was something interesting, I'd just share it directly with whoever I thought would want to see it.
On the reverse side of things, I liked not seeing every single thing people were posting. Is anyone else exhausted from keeping up with others' lives? Maybe if Instagram was like it once was in 2013, I wouldn't feel this way because I'd just be seeing posts from people I actually follow/care about; but the scraping through of paid ads, junk posts, filler posts and Instagram influencer got-to-make-sure-I-post-something-ANYTHING-posts are so much to go through just to see a post that actually interests me. I just want to see the people I actually care to see!
As weeks went by, I did find that the thing I missed most about social media apps was actually the feeling of "community" when it comes to pop culture. For instance, I'm a huge fan of the Armchair Expert podcast and felt a bit removed from it by not being able to "participate" in it. Same went for TV shows I was watching that I wanted to get others' takes on (The Crown and Succession to name a few.) This caused me to reactivate my Reddit account on my desktop computer so that I could still have discussions with people and feel connected to topics that I care about. And as it turned out, I felt tremendously more fulfilled by reading and taking part in actual conversations like these than I have literally ever felt by mindlessly scrolling on my phone.
So, am I going to permanently delete all social media apps forever? Nope - and that wasn't ever really the point. The purpose was to take a break, reconnect with how life felt before social media and to help rid myself of a habit. I loved taking the break, I loved the nostalgic simplicity of not having social media on my phone and I'm hoping that the detox will help me use social media differently - not out of habit but more intentionally. And perhaps I'll do detoxes more often! Or maybe one day I will get rid of social media altogether, who knows!
At any rate, without sounding preachy or moralistic, I couldn't recommend a social media detox enough. Even if you're someone like me who doesn't have a social media addiction -
there is something so incredibly alleviating about having one less app to check messages on...
something freeing about not having to keep up with others' lives...
something tranquil about the veritable quiet...
and something satisfying about truly putting your phone away and being where you are.
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