5 Days of Social Media Detox

Kathleen Leiner

During the spring break of my junior year, I found myself lounging around my home being unproductive and loathing of what my fellow classmates were doing. While some were partying it up in Fort Lauderdale, I spent my time scrolling through social media. I began to realize I was spending an unhealthy amount of time on my phone, so I decided to pull the plug and delete my social media apps.

Here’s what happened….

Within the first few hours, I noticed how frequently I would go to grab my phone to fill the void of empty time. When I wasn’t busy, I reached for my phone at every opportunity. I began the cycle of unlocking my phone, scrolling through, realizing I didn’t have any social apps, and then locking my phone again. I had formed the habit of attempting to occupy myself with any moment of free time with social media. My brain began contemplating whether deleting my apps was beneficial or not. I even reconsidered redownloading my apps, which ultimately revealed to me how much power my phone had over me.

After the first day or so, I stopped reaching for my phone at every opportunity and started to leave it in different locations when I normally had been keeping it on me at all times. I stopped stressing over the reasons I normally kept my phone so close. The anticipation of a friend reaching out to me or being up to date with what others were doing started to decline. I became much more present with myself and comfortable existing alone in empty time without having to fill a void of electronic entertainment.

Towards the end of the 5 days, I noticed that my screen time was decreasing. I was still using my phone but for different reasons. My battery level began to be drained heavily by Spotify because of how much music I had been listening to. I started texting close friends and had more face to face conversations with my family. On what I thought would be the last day of this challenge, I didn’t redownload the apps. I felt free of the past feelings of anticipation that social media had brought to me.

Here’s what I learned….

If the thought of deleting your apps scares you, you’re probably addicted to social media. It might seem like an all or nothing kind of challenge, but you can easily redownload everything within seconds. I really encourage everyone to delete their apps for just a day and see how they feel. Next, my biggest take away from this challenge is that we all spend too much time consuming information about people who don’t matter to us. I missed an entire week of updates from the people I follow, and I felt less stressed and free from the constraints of my phone. I realized that I don’t gain anything from viewing what people are doing every second of their lives. We should focus on are the people we are close with and that are present in our lives right now.

While I cut back on my phone time, I noticed that other people had not. It wasn’t until I put my phone down that I realized that most people around me were completely consumed in their technology. I was shocked one day when I was riding the bus home when I saw that every person on the bus had their eyes glued to their phone and oblivious to the world around them. I encourage everyone to take some time away from their phone to enjoy their life in the present. Social media can bring a lot of enjoyment to people, but it shouldn’t be the center of someone’s life. When I look back on my life one day, I will never remember the hours I spent scrolling through my phone checking what others were doing. Instead, I will remember the moments I spent with my friends and family living in the present.