A 48 Hour Social Media Detox - Findings and Results
This past Friday I posted an image to IG stories that I was taking the weekend entirely off of social media. My reasons: I was basically just feeling really crappy, less than, uninspired, my soul sucked dry. I had consumed A LOT of social that week and it was actually affecting every area of my life.
I’m no stranger to knowing my phone is killing my soul.
Last summer I did a No Scroll July which was AMAZING
I have the social insights - screen time - on my phone turned one.
I have basically stopped checking social first thing when I wake up
And yet I still somehow managed to spend 12 hours and 44 minutes on IG in the past 7 days. That stat was actually at 16 hours when it wasn’t factoring in my detox on Sat. Sun.
Friday night I spent an HOUR scrolling on Instagram. Now, I was doing some “research” into different accounts, but did I need to spend 60 minutes when I probably could have spent 15? Totally.
So that was what sent me into this detox weekend and coming out on the other side, I can say it was the best decision ever. I’ve been keeping a nightly journal for 2019 and for the top of each day I write the day’s vibe. The previous days were stressful, upsetting, etc. And Sunday night all I could write was relaxing. And I did a TON of things:
4 mile river walk with Andrew (where we also picked up trash)
Raked the leaves
Grocery shopped and meal prepped
Started and finished an entire book
Did my self care checklist each morning
The list goes on.
Scenes from my 48 hours - social free!
Three Lessons Learned
So, here are three lessons I learned and how I am going to keep this social media detox going:
Life doesn’t STOP when you get off social. And in fact - it gets BETTER. Seriously, I was literally 100% less stressed, anxious, and annoying by being off social.
You get the chance to connect in person. I asked someone about their weekend and they said they went hiking. They (presumably) this this info on social, but because I wasn’t on, I got to absorb the info in a fun, new, exciting way and actually ASK them questions about what they did, where they went, and how it was. If I had seen that on IG, I would NOT Have been as engaged and present in this conversation.
You become a better person for yourself, your partner, your family, and your business. When you are constantly inundating yourself with social media, there’s no WAY you can put out the best of what you want to be or do for the world. You don’t have to have a business to feel imposter syndrome. You can be a normal person and feel like your body sucks, your job sucks, your partner sucks - all because of consuming social media on a near constant basis.
5 Tips to Keep The Social Media Detox Going:
Make a conscious decision. Several times during this weekend when I had 5-10 minutes before something, I would go to my phone, pick i tup and remember hey, you can do something besides IG with this 10 minutes. So I folded laundry, I read more chapters in my book.
Track it and REVIEW it. You may have screen timer on your phone, but how often do you review it
Tell someone for accountability - yes, even if it’s just for social media. Have good friends that support you. Josh posted something on IG and I told him I was on a social detox but I would go on there and look and he screen shot it for me and texted. Wha ta great friend!! Get friends that support your goals and you just because.
Set boundaries for when you will check and what you will do on there. I LOVE social. So if I set a timer for say 15 minutes to consume, then I need to stick with it.
Give yourself small chunks to achieve. Thinking you can go from 100 to 0 may be a tad ambitious. Sometimes it takes a while to build up habits and it’s better to start small, achieve and then grow. A whole month right off the bat?Maybe not so much. 48 hours? Totally doable. Then you do another 48 hours and before you know it you’re at 3 days, 5 days then a week and then your 30 days.
Resources
I love a good resource you can implement or use to help you grow so here are a few that relate:
How to make your phone work for you, not against you. I have implemented this change on my phone and it’s startling how effective it is.
Hurry Slowly, Season 2 Ep 7 with Cal Newport - Using Technology with Intention. I have not listened to this yet, but an IG follower (shout to out @millikenmarketing!) recommended it to me.
If you embark on a social media detox - let me know how it goes! I’d love to hear your lessons learned and tips + trips for your next one!
