How to Quit Social Media (And You Can Too)

Every spare moment I had, I would reach for my phone and scroll through Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat without thinking. But eventually I noticed how this habit made me feel strangely numb, as if my real life had faded into the background. I decided to change my routine and take my life back. That’s how I left social media.

good to know: We answer the frequently asked question: Is YouTube really a social media site??

Step 1: Temporary Release

I wasn’t quite ready to stop using social media cold turkey. So I decided to take a preliminary approach. I didn’t immediately take action to delete my social media accounts; I made sure they were much more inconspicuous.

I keep most of my social media apps on my Android device, so the first thing I did was disable ALL notifications, including Facebook Messenger. This helped me quickly eliminate the distractions of social media.

To disable notifications for an app on Android, go to: Settings -> Notifications -> App notifications. Turn off the switch next to the app. For more granular control, tap the app and let certain notifications pass. For example, I left Birthday Notifications for Facebook are on.

On your iPhone, go to: Settings -> Notifications. Tap and close the app Allow Notifications.

The next thing I did was make sure my close friends and relatives were aware that I planned to reduce my use of these apps. I reached out to everyone I contacted via Facebook Messenger and agreed to keep my social interactions on WhatsApp.

Since I wasn’t planning to give up 100% on social media just yet, I also checked my social feeds to make sure they had the content I wanted to see (when I eventually got back to the apps). I used some of these tricks Clear my Instagram feed. I also shortened my Facebook friend list and decided not to keep people I don’t really know and haven’t interacted with much over the years.

Fly: also helps: Make your Facebook private as much as possible.

Step 2: Setting a Schedule

With my social media apps set to silent mode, I began creating a weekly schedule to check my social posts. I decided to choose Saturday as the day to do some scrolling.

It was also important that I set some boundaries. I couldn’t spend all day scanning for everything I “missed”. Instead, I made it a point to only spend an hour browsing through apps and responding to messages.

At first it was quite difficult for me to stick to a schedule, especially when I had a free moment, I slowly developed different habits that took over my preference for checking new posts on social media.

Step 3: Figuring Out How to Spend My Free Time

This brings me to the next step. In reality, social media consumes a lot of your free time. But ask yourself if you want to spend all your time this way. Studies We’ve shown time and time again that taking time to relax is vital to our mental health and overall productivity.

improve yourself

Start thinking about what your real goals in life are. I really want to take more steps towards improving my mental health. I kept telling myself that I would start journaling, but I never managed to incorporate it into my daily routine.

I wanted to start listening to affirmations and adding meditation routines to my schedule. All these activities combined take time; time I would otherwise waste doomscrolling on Instagram.

If there’s one positive drive I’ve gained from Instagram, it’s the desire to work on myself. The app is a treasure trove of personal development content, but consuming it without taking action will get us nowhere.

Since I had extra time, I was finally able to search and order the books I found on the app. Armed with these resources, I began to expand my knowledge on topics that were important to me.

Spending more time with your loved ones

With extra time to fill, I was more willing to interact with others. I’ve found that scrolling through social media is another way to meet the need for companionship. Instead of laughing at myself while watching Reels on Instagram, I now attempted to meet or chat with my friends.

I must admit, since I prefer texting to other forms of communication (I’m an introvert), this part was difficult for me at first. Reaching out in person or asking someone for a phone call wasn’t always as comfortable as reaching out on social media. But it pushed me to be more social with important people.

finding new hobbies

Another useful distraction, besides doomscrolling and binge-watching Netflix of course, is finding a new hobby. There were already a few things on the list, but I couldn’t start any of them, again due to lack of time.

His most important hobby was doodling. Growing up, I always had a passion for drawing and spent a lot of time on this activity; Sometimes I would create whole worlds in my head. But somehow the drawing faded into the background. I wanted to recapture that magic I felt when drawing as a child, so with the extra time on my hands I refocused my energy on doodling every day.

Moreover, I hope that this hobby will allow me to expand my social circle in the near future, because I will be taking a watercolor drawing class.

Fly: take a look at these Apps that can help you learn to cook.

Step 4: Resisting the Urge

Don’t fool yourself; The urge to reach for your phone and quickly check Instagram or Snapchat will linger for a while. If it crashes frequently and you find yourself slipping, implement some extra safety options.

Try hiding apps from view: out of sight, out of mind. Learn how to do this Android.

You can also block certain apps with apps like Freedom (Android, iOS). The tool allows you to create schedules that minimize all distractions. It can even play relaxing sounds to help you focus on other tasks and take your mind off social media. I use it as a nice background while reading.

Step 5: Beginning to Notice the Difference

Since not using social media all day, I’ve started to notice the difference every day as my desire to check apps decreases. So is the concern to always be connected and available. Perhaps the most unexpected effect will be to forget them completely. A friend had to remind me that she sent me an interesting Reel via text message.

Not being constantly distracted by social media also helped me increase my productivity. Digital overload was visibly stifling my creativity and motivation. Taking time away from social apps has helped me inspire new ideas and develop my willingness to tackle projects from new perspectives.

Step 6: Pausing Accounts

Once I got out of the routine of constantly checking social media, I decided to take the next step: I deactivated my Facebook account. When I did this, my profile was no longer visible and my name, photos, and most things I shared were removed.

Disabling Facebook leaves the Messenger app intact, so you can continue checking messages from your friends. But you won’t have access to your Facebook feed. Of course, you can easily reinstate your account by logging in again. Similar options are available for Instagram, Snapchat and other social media apps.

for your information: If you are a Snapchat user, you must enable these privacy settings.

Because I am a technology journalist, I will never completely step away from social media. Still, my one-month break from Facebook showed me that I wasn’t really missing anything. The only thing that really kept me glued to Facebook was being able to access information about local events.

But during my break, I discovered that my friends would keep me posted on social updates anyway, so I didn’t need to rely on Facebook. The same is probably true for all other social apps.

Here’s the thing: When you distance yourself from social media long enough, the idea of ​​giving it up completely doesn’t seem like such a big sacrifice anymore. As your sense of happiness moves away from constant online updates, deleting your accounts becomes a smoother and more natural step. Just take small steps to archive this goal; You don’t need to start deleting all social media apps in one day.

If you want to continue on this digital detox path, read on to find out How to control your screen time on Android?. But remember that not all apps are bad and using some can be really beneficial. For example, take a look at this list: The best mental health apps on Android.

Image credit: remove splatter. All screenshots courtesy of Alexandra Arici.

Alexandra is passionate about mobile technology and you can often find her tinkering with a smartphone from an unknown company. After working as a secondary school teacher for several years, he began his career in technology journalism in 2013. Constantly driven by curiosity, Alexandra enjoys learning how things work and sharing this knowledge with everyone.