How do you disconnect from social media?
Social media can be a tempting distraction. It’s a pretty common experience to want to pick up your phone whenever you can’t focus or need a quick break. But you may find yourself struggling with endless doom scrolling, waiting for messages or comparing yourself to others at all times of day.
Social media can have harmful effects on us sometimes, like:
- Interfering with study, hobbies, exercise or other responsibilities.
- Making us stay up past our bedtime.
- Seeing something that makes us feel distressed.
Some simple solutions might include setting limits on screen time, using apps which stop phone use like Flora, or putting your phone away when you’re doing important things. That being said, every person has their own way of disengaging from social media.
How do you disconnect from social media?
Comments
Hey! I totally get it - it's so easy to fall into the social media trap. I've actually found some fun ways to disconnect that work pretty well for me: I got super into making origami recently! Sounds random, but it's perfect when I need a quick break - keeps my hands busy and it's weirdly satisfying. Plus now my desk is full of little paper cranes 😄
Started keeping a book in my bag instead of reaching for my phone. Currently reading this wild sci-fi series - way more entertaining than scrolling through Instagram for the 100th time!
When I'm home, I put my phone in another room while working/studying. Out of sight, out of mind! Sometimes I even make it a game - like "let's see how long I can go without checking it" (my record is 3 hours! 🏆)
I hope these are helpful for you!!
Thanks for sharing this! I totally relate to the struggle with social media distractions. It’s so easy to fall into that cycle of doom scrolling or comparing ourselves to others.
I’ve found that setting specific times to check my phone helps a lot, and if I’m doing something really important, I’ll switch off my phone completely. Taking breaks by going for a walk or reading a book also helps me reset and focus on other activities. Disconnecting has significantly improved my mental health, as it helps me avoid those unhealthy comparisons.😊
This is a great question! I'm going to be honest here and admit that I often fail at disconnecting from social media (predominantly just TikTok). But I am trying harder to set boundaries and give myself a break! I think the only thing that really works is being physically away from my phone. I set time aside where I read a book outside, or cook something in the kitchen and leave my phone on charge in my room. I've tried setting screen time limits or deleting apps but I always just bypass them. But if my phone is nowhere in reach then I'm often too lazy to go get it. I allow myself to still keep my Apple watch on as I have a fear of someone urgently needing to reach me and I think that stops me from feeling anxiety being away from my phone (but obviously, I can't really watch TikToks on my Apple watch so it works out perfectly). I think that keeping busy with meeting up with others in real life as well as going on outings also helps - I can't really be doom scrolling if I'm out to lunch with someone.
Personally, I deleted Instagram a few weeks ago and have found a profound impact on my mental health. Suddenly, I have time to do the things I love 😂
I noticed I was spending hours of my time scrolling through reels to wind down, only to realise I had wasted my time. Not only this, but I was constantly comparing myself to others subconsciously and it wasn’t healthy.
Since deleting it, I have begun to read again and write. I appreciate the little things more as I’m not constantly bombarded with information. Every text, every call, matters.
Disclaimer: I’m not saying you can’t find balance and the only solution is deleting all social media, I’m just sharing what worked for me 😊
Thanks for posting about this!
I often find myself doom scrolling during the night when I feel like I haven't found time for myself during the day. It definitely has had impacts on my sleep schedule and I'm not proud of it, but I have been able to reduce these instances the past few months.
I like to disconnect from social media by scheduling time for myself during the day to just chill out and not worry about work. I personally love cooking, so I like to schedule days or time blocks where I just wanna cook or bake for enjoyment! It also helps to just leave my phone and devices out of my sight, or just removing certain apps from my home screen - if I can't see it, I probably won't use it.
Loving all the comments under this thread! Will be trying some of them myself 🙂
Thank you for making this post! I find myself doom-scrolling more often than I'd like, so it's great to see all these tips that I can try out!
When I really need to focus and get work done, I leave my phone in a different room or I try to 'hide' it somewhere so that it is not easily visible. 'Out of sight, out of mind' really works for me, so this is what I have to resort to on the days that I need to be super productive.
Curious to see what everyone else does when they need to disconnect!
Hey @Stormy-RO
Great post! I find that putting my phone on silent and flipping it upside down really prevents social media from becoming a distraction when I’m trying to study. If it’s facing upright, I can get distracted by my screen turning on from silent notifications. For some reason having to flip my phone over requires just enough effort for me to not be motivated to do it unnecessarily 😂
Hi @Stormy-RO
This is a really good post, I am curious to hear what others have to say on the topic.
I have definitely dialed back my social media use, I recently deleted snapchat because I realised that I had no real need for it. Moving forward, I am only using Facebook and Instagram (and LinkedIn if that counts) and try to keep myself limited with my time on them.
Some solutions I have applied are:
- disabling notifications so that only truly important messages go through, e.g. if I am mentioned '@'
- muting group chats if they are spamming
- limiting myself to 5 reels max every time I compulsively open the app
- keeping myself engaged in a task, especially something that allows me to flow
I definitely could use less social media, but this is still a work in progress 🙂
Hey @Stormy-RO
For me, I am not active on social media but yes, as you said sometimes we keep scrolling and watching.
For Instagram, I don't install the app rather I use website for accessing it, thus having additional steps makes brain think, I don't want it anymore
Next, I unfriended the people that I didn't know well yet, the ones I used to compare my life with.
I keep the Screen time widget on my home page so that I am concious of how much time I am spending and where.
For Youtube, I spend some free time watching shorts and when I don't feel like doing anything. Is that okay?
Thanks for sharing your tips, in past I have used apps like keep me out , where the phone is unlocked for 7hrs or depending on you. Also, having a restricted time for a particular app.
