7 Tips on How to Detox from Social Media
(from someone who’s never into one)

This is how my typical day runs. I wake up before my alarm scares the heck out of me. I get up; do my morning routine; eat my breakfast and go to work. At work, I finish what is due on that day; check a couple of emails and if I still have free time, I indulge myself reading my favorite blog sites like Medium, LiveScience, Inc.com, Popular Science, Scientific American, National Geographic and PsyBlog. I am out of the office when the clock strikes 5:35 PM and head home. At home, well, I eat, read fiction stories, do chores and sleep.
Is there something missing? Is there something — odd? Where is the: “I check my [social media networking site name here] account?” I don’t need to spell it out, right? You get my drift.
As a digital native and a certified millennial, people around me expects I have one. Besides, if you’re a content strategist in a digital marketing company, most likely, you’re obliged to join. Yet, I never considered it. Call me an oddball or anything; I will just shrug it off.
How do I write social media posts if I shy away from it? I simply follow what other writers like me do: read tons of reading materials and conduct in-depth research.
Enough about my weirdness, let’s get on with the matter in hand. How to detox from social media? Here’s my take on the subject coming from someone who isn’t into social media:
Social Media Detox Tip #1: Walking
I’ve tried and tested this. I have my afternoon walks, particularly, during lunch. I prefer eating lunch outside rather than strapping myself in my office chair and eat pack lunch. It really helps because as a writer I need to clear or refresh my mind before I touch any keys on my laptop again. Did you know walking is the cheapest therapy than gulping tablets of anti-depressants? MyFitnessPal blog also says that walking:
- Sharpens your brain
- Strengthens your bones
- Boosts your mood
- Enhances your circulation
- Reduces your risk of tripping and falling
- Bolsters your memory
- Lessens the pain of conditions like arthritis and fibromyalgia
- Improves your blood glucose levels
- Raises your immunity
- Improves your sleep
Social Media Detox Tip #2: No mobiles while eating
When? I don’t bring my phone with me at breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. “Are you insane!?” you might ask. Nope, because I am doing what a normal human being does. Eat. Plain and simple. No smartphones, no tablets, no rectangular device allowed. I want to eat in peace without any distractions. Good for digestion, too.
Social Media Detox Tip #3: Reading
This is given because I am a writer. But when was the last time you’ve put down your phone or sign out of your social media account, and instead read a book? Or a newspaper? Or an online newspaper/magazine? How abreast are you in the current events in your locality or outside your country? However, only choose credible sources to feed your mind. I repeat: credible sources.
Social Media Detox Tip #4: Choose a hobby
Are you into blogging, knitting, coding or any hobby that you would like to do in your spare time? Do it! This is your way of acquiring new hard skills. And who knows, it may bring you an extra income? It is a win-win situation, right? Also, this hobby thingy will never bore you. How can you be bored if you’re doing something that you love and enjoy? This is a perfect and worthy distraction.
Social Media Detox Tip #5: Volunteer
Do you have an advocacy that you want to pursue? Go for it! Do you want to teach out-of-school youth? Are you sick and tired of seeing our environment wither? Do you want to join a non-profit organization that cares about animal welfare? According to Forbes, here are the benefits of volunteering:
- It makes you feel like you have more time.
- It helps you develop new skills.
- It is good for your health.
- It helps you build experience.
- It makes you feel more love.
Social Media Detox Tip #6: Monitor your social media usage
We’ve reached the hardcore part of this blog post. This is a desperate move that you shouldn’t execute on your own because it would be pointless if you do it yourself. How can you accomplish this?
Install a monitoring app like Norton Family Premier or Eset Parental Control in all your digital devices. Set this up in a way that when you access a social media app, your parents or someone you can trust will be notified, but disguise it as a website that shows explicit content.
I am not sure if this is possible on the apps I’ve mentioned but in case you know one, drop the name in the comment section.
Social Media Detox Tip #7: Pay the price
Are the social media monitoring apps not helping? I understand. You’ve cheated. Let us move on to the last solution.
Are you familiar with the swear jar system? It works this way: you will pay a fine whenever you’re caught accessing your social media accounts.
Your notification sound must be always on. Who doesn’t get tempted to reach a phone whenever a notification rings? You’re doing it out of reflex; it is an automatic reaction.
This depends on the type of setting. At home, it will be your family members. At work, it will be your colleagues. At school, it will be your classmates. You get the drift. The more “social media police,” the merrier! Treat this as a game, a really “fun” game. Yay. On the bright side, you can save money, too.
Social media is akin to a noisy jungle where you need to take a break even just for an hour or a day. It helps you to regain traction with the real world so you could have real and personal interactions. Not just being the person behind a username.
However, social media detox is not an overnight thing. At first, you could practice doing it for thirty minutes on Day One, and then add another thirty minutes on Day Two, until you can successfully do it for a day or an entire week. Hallelujah! It is a lifehack that needs loads of self-discipline and self-control.
We live in a connected world where everyone is reachable thru social media. And, to be honest, from time to time I also browse the social media pages of various businesses to see what is going on. I do this for the sake of writing social media posts. I just avoid the ‘sign up’ button, though. And I have LinkedIn, as well.
How rewarding it is when you try living in the moment where you could have authentic life experiences just like the old lady in the image above. You can only achieve this if you’re able to spend a social media free day.
“You can take all the pictures you want, but you can never relive the moment the same way.” ― Audrey Regan, Editor of Business Statistics
