Social Media Detox: Musings.

It’s no secret that young adults spend a lot of time on social media. Of course, it is an amazing tool, but at the same time, it can be addictive! When I found myself being too dependent on the media and lonely, stressed out and unproductive, dealing with low confidence and poor decision-making, having trouble sleeping, coupled with eye fatigue and no control over my usage – I knew it was time for a break.

What I did? I picked a post-it note, and wrote down reasons for a break.

• I was fed up with feeling like I could never put down my phone.
• I wanted to regain my free time AND my mental health.
• I needed to take a break to be alone with my own thoughts to rejuvenate.
• I wanted to be in control of how I feel using something or doing something, not the other way around.
• I needed to declutter… my schedule, habits, time, goals, mind and life.

I turned off notifications and set time limits, set my major apps as hidden and pfft, I went off.

Here are the realizations I came to after my detox, some achievements, some awakenings:

1. I finished a whole series with it’s prequel in three days. It was 5,456-paged. And no, it wasn’t just smooth reading. I highlighted and wrote notes. That was a new height in my reading history!
2. There was a task on my to-do list that’s been bumped for months. I just kept dreading doing it. However, I sat down and was able to focus completely on the task and get majority of it done in one sitting(which took about two hours of writing). I’m proud of myself for making progress on that task.
3. I outlined an idea for a new project.
4. I spent most of my time on YouTube and Udemy. (Reedsy contents are the best!) Over time, I’ve been taking courses halfway, always dreading assignments. This time around, I completed a course.
5. I took out a day to go through my emails – never knew I subscribed to many newsletters with amazing contents and had been missing out on a lot.
6. I started a Bible study plan on my YouVersion Bible app. I’ve always seen studying my Bible as a task, now I’m slowly easing into it. Believe me, it’s everything amazing!
7. I am addicted to WordPress and Instagram. I missed those environments more than any other.
8. I love the silence more than I know. And I love having conversations with myself.
9. I realized that the never-ending headache and eye pain I usually suffer was probably from having a 10 hour average screen time. Maybe, maybe not.
10. The world wouldn’t stop, my absence won’t stop anything. And that’s a tiny bit depressing.
11. I’ve been missing out on a lot of sleep. About time, I pick up that habit.
12. Walks are relaxing and beneficial. I’ll definitely be taking long walks now.
13. Even if I don’t stay on social media, any information that is useful enough, will still reach me.
14. I love reading, but I hated schoolbooks. I can say schoolbooks are not that bad now.

The detox wasn’t easy and at a point, I downloaded Candy Crush. To know me is to know I love the Candy Crush game. It turned to be a bad idea as it was super addictive. After a few hours of non-stop play, I deleted the app.

I’m not of the opinion that social media is all bad, neither am I judging people for using social media. Like anything else, I think social media is great in moderation. It’s helped me do some amazing things and meet some awesome people. But, I do hope people reflect on their usage of social media and think about taking a break, if nothing else just to see how it makes them feel.

Addiction is a scary thing. It’s definitely not something any of us want to admit to. Taking this break from social media has more than proven to me that I was addicted to it. Was it an unhealthy addiction? It was.

I feel happier now. Not that I’m normally unhappy, but I often feel stressed or strained. Now, I’m of clearer thought and less stressed out. My productivity, attention span and clarity of thought all increased greatly with living without social media for two weeks.

The biggest benefit has been the removal of negativity and unnecessary information. Taking a break, surely, can be beneficial to your health and happiness.

I’m thinking about what I will do on social media now that my detox is up. I don’t want to regress back into old addictive habits and definitely do not want to get sucked back into social expectations and notification addiction.

So, no social media usage during my mornings and no social media usage after 10pm – I need me to help me sleep well.

I really value taking control of my time. And my next social media detox aim is for 30 days. I promised myself to be uncomfortable this year, and I won’t stop at anything.

P.S: I must admit, my friend, Indigo’s blog post on her social media break gave me the needed push to go on a hiatus.

Have you ever gone on a social media break?

I’d like to hear your stories in the comments.

Thanks for reading!🥰

I am Oluwaferanmi,

And you are loved by God.❤️

If you haven’t already, check out my other recent posts:

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• Confessions of a Nigerian Skinny Girl: I do not need your rude comments.
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• Got Questions? Ask Awayyy!