by By: Sarah Novitsky
Why Do A Social Media Detox?
According to a study done by MSS Media, the average Gen Z college student spends almost four and a half hours a day on social media. On its own, the statistic already doesn’t look very good. After all, its almost 20% of the entire day. Paired with the fact that heavy social media usage is linked to increased risks of depression, loneliness and anxiety, this stat starts to look even more horrifying.
In order to avoid this, people have started taking a social media detox. This can look like a wide variety of things from as small as setting screen time limits to deleting social media apps/ accounts. The most important aspect of a social media detox is that it is done in order to promote a healthy mind.
If you’re looking for a way to break free from the captive screen, you’ve come to the right place. Here are three ways to participate in a social media detox. You can mix and match them or just choose the best option that works for you.
But first, consider your goals
Before doing anything, it’s always important to reflect on your purpose. In this sense, ask yourself why you want to do a social media detox. Is your mental health wavering? Do you find yourself losing sleep? Do you want to be more productive? Asking yourself these questions not only helps you connect deeper with yourself, but it can also make it easier to find the right solutions.
Option 1: Limit Access
Limiting access to certain apps (or just your phone in general) can be a great start to a detox. This can look like deleting/offloading apps during certain time periods, using screen time limits in the settings, or turning off and putting away your phones.
Great for:
- Setting healthy habits
- Increasing productivity
Option 2: Reassess Who You’re Following & Re-curate Your Algorithms
Sometimes, the root of the problem comes from what we’re choosing to consume. If you find yourself feeling extremely anxious, jealous, angry, or other negative emotions while scrolling through your feed, the best thing to do is go through your following and look over what is appearing on your social media. Is constant news updates making you anxious? Then maybe take a break from following news accounts for a short while. Is that one influencer making you feel insecure about your appearance? Even if she’s a nice person, maybe hitting that unfollow button will give you peace of mind.
You can even go as far as to trying to re-curate your algorithms to switch up the content that is being shown to you. This website here teaches you how to refresh your TikTok algorithm.
Great for:
- Improving Mental Health
- Reducing extreme emotions
Option 3: Find Other Things To Fill Your Time
This video is a great place to find other hobbies that can fill up the space that social media once held. The best part of a social media detox is realizing how much time you can get back. Scrolling for four hours before bed can turn into one hour of reading, one hour of drawing, one hour of talking to friends and one hour of going on a walk. The opportunities are endless!
Great For:
- Getting Your Time Back
Hi Sarah, I enjoyed your blog post! Your topic is timely, as social media is incredibly powerful these days. I’ve caught myself scrolling for hours and noticed a decline in my mental health when I spend too much time online. I appreciate the suggestions you shared
Hi Sarah, I loved reading your blog post! This post is extremely relevant thanks to the current digital landscape and overall Gen Z social media habits. I have felt the need to take a social media detox so this post gave me ideas on how to go about it. Option 2 resonated with me the most. I never thought about “re-curating” my algorithm to make it fit my current likes and wants!
Hi Sarah! This post was super helpful. I find myself in the doom scroll on TikTok and Instagram reels and it never feels good when I break out of it. I think it’s super important to take “detoxes” from social media every once in awhile, especially as technology only grows. The effects on dopamine are very crazy.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Sarah! I really enjoyed reading your blog. I have never considered a social media detox, but I think it would be a good idea! I really liked how you outlined different ways to go about starting a social media detox. I particularly like the idea of reassessing my following and content. I still follow a lot of people from when I first got social media years ago, so this is absolutely something I’ll be trying!
Hi Sarah. I really liked reading your post because this is something that I need to do myself. I feel like this is something most of our generation needs to pay attention to, and I feel like you added great tips and suggestions to follow along, such as limiting access because that can be the hardest part when it comes to trying to detox yourself from social media.
This was extremely informative as well as helpful! I think we can all benefit from a social media detox, but it won’t work unless you are making a specific goal/outcome you want from this.
I really enjoyed this post! I like that you linked to other resources about the science behind social media’s impact on people so that readers can do some additional research on the topic. I also really like that you encouraged people to assess why they actually want to do a detox in the first place before starting it, because that’s a really important step! This has definitely made me more inclined to try out a detox, especially since you provided so many alternatives to scrolling!
This is such an important reminder! Thank you. A social media detox can really help with mental clarity and emotional well-being.
Hey Sarah! I found your blog to be very informative about ways to detox your mind. For most people, scrolling on social media isn’t the most relaxing thing to do to calm your mind after a long day. The statistic you provided about Gen Z screen time is eye-opening! Before summer, I put a screen time lock on TikTok for an hour a day and quickly noticed a difference in my attention span, along with my relationships with friends since I was spending less time on my phone. Each of your options is a great way to detox from social media.
Hi Sarah! I love that you chose this topic for your “how-to” blog. Your suggestions on how to detox successfully are very helpful. However, detoxes sound intimidating because many people are scared to fully let go of social media. Your suggestions would make me consider doing a detox. Thank you for these ideas! Great post!
Hi Sarah! As someone who’s done a social media detox before and looking into doing another, I think this was such a helpful guide. I feel so unproductive when I spend a few hours on TikTok. I will need to watch the video in Option 3 to get more ideas on what hobbies I can do in my free time, especially with winter break coming up. Thanks for sharing!