Panache

How many times have you tried to quit social media and failed? You think you won’t get back on those apps again and yet you keep scrolling.

Maybe that is because you never had an effective plan. Follow the steps below and don’t fail in your mission to quit social media.

Have clear goals about Social Media Usage.

When we are talking about quitting social media, that means deleting all the apps and going completely MIA. However, that is not realistic. Most people try that and they fail again and again. That is not healthy either. Because the more you run away from it, the more it will chase you. It is like an addiction.

However, if you are determined to quit, you need to first delete the apps that you use most. And keep the ones that do not eat away most of your time. Reportedly, most people delete TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. But soon, they get addicted to YouTube.

The goal is to minimize the use of social media apps so it does not affect your well-being. If you keep that in mind, your approach towards quitting social media would be much healthier.

Therefore, if you are on a mission to quit it, you must take it step by step. See, what a small change does to your routine, your mental health, and your overall well-being, and then take a step further.

How are you getting affected by the apps?

Many people feel more lonely and start comparing themselves with other accounts when they use social media. And comparison is the thief of joy. The prime objective of social media was to bring people closer. It contributed to making communities and solving issues.

Many who contributed to the making of these apps have confessed that their objective has steered away from the more toxic side. These apps serve propaganda, scams, delusions, and callous living. If you think you will remain unaffected by these things, you are wrong.

Even if you use social media for fun and don’t indulge in any heavy content, it still affects your self-esteem and confidence to a much larger extent. Many people confess to having negative thoughts when they scroll through their feeds for long.

And that’s what becomes their primary motive to quit social media.

Also Read: 9 signs you need to quit social media.

Work on your mindset.  

When you are making up your mind about quitting social media, you have to work on your mindset first. You need to understand what makes you addicted to social media so much. A part of the population confesses to using social media for escapism purposes. Others use it to avoid the loneliness they feel in real life.

Firstly, you need to realize that if you are not making real connections through your accounts, you are probably falling into a delusion. Secondly, if you are not able to make any real connections through your social media persona, your loneliness is fated to increase. And soon, you will know that using social media is neither the answer to escapism nor loneliness.

Also, when you are not using the apps, your mind will tell you a thousand excuses to open the app. Excuses like what has been your favorite creator up to? What new things happened in your preferred industry? Creators also make content to place you on the edge. So, you keep coming back for more. And so does the algorithm.

You must stop getting your mind washed. And consume things with a bit of logic. Such as what difference would it make in your life if you got to know the latest gossip about celebrities? You don’t need to know the next action in the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef.  

Also Read: A strategic plan to cure “brain rot”.

Delete a few apps.

Earlier we talked about taking the mission of quitting social media step-by-step. So, let’s start by quitting a few apps initially. Don’t put any goodbye messages or make a post that you will be off social media for a few days. That would just create a will to go back.

Just delete the app to not come back. If that is difficult for you, delete the apps from the device you keep handy. It will create a big difference. Most importantly, realize how you feel after deleting those apps. Depending on multiple factors, you may feel lonely, a feeling of FOMO, or outright boredom.

Do not try to run away from those feelings, instead sit with them. These may just be the withdrawal symptoms from your brain. On the other hand, if you feel relieved to get out of the algorithmic simulation, the process of digital detox will be much easier for you.

Create a barrier.

There is a chance that if you quit one social media application, you may get addicted to the other ones. Most people, who delete Instagram, soon find themselves scrolling through YouTube shorts. So, make sure you log out of those apps.

Log out of Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, so if you get on the apps mindlessly, you need to log in again and you will be reminded that you need to stay off your feed.

You can also try to change the location of the apps on your phone. This will make your mind reset and reconsider the old habits.

On YouTube, you can create a digital well-being check notification setting. So, it will remind you at your chosen interval that you should take a break.

This is the best feature to minimize your screen time and save yourself from doom scrolling.

Switch off the notifications.

In the documentary, The Social Dilemma, every expert asks people to switch off the notifications. Because that is how these apps lure you to them. You might have observed this in your behavior. No matter what you are doing, you will check your phone as soon as you hear the notification bell go off.

You cannot go on social media fasting with your notifications on. Your phone will stop buzzing once you get to your settings page and switch off the notifications for every app available on your phone. You will also see a dramatic change in your screen time. And that will give a boost to your motivation.

Check and record your screen time; set a wellness lock

This should be the first step when you decide to give up on the usage of social media. Try checking how much is your total screen time and how much time you spend on each application in your phone. The average social media usage time for Americans is 2 hours.

However, for the ones who are addicted can go up to 18 hours a day. So, if your screen time is in double digits, you need to take a break. See, if you are productive on those apps or you are simply wasting your time.

Another good feature that is available in most of the phones is that of a digital wellness lock. Your phone would be in the grey mode or on the “Do not Disturb” mode when you put the wellness lock on. You just have to select a period and your phone will automatically turn grey during those hours.

It works well in reminding you that it is time to go off the screen, so you can do something else or sleep. This one step can make a major shift in your screen time as well as in helping you to quit social media.

Do not use social media off time as a reward.

When we are talking about quitting social media, you may want to check your accounts after a while. Since you have been off drugs for a while now, a quick check can turn into addiction again. So, do not get back on the account as a reward for all the hard work you have done being off that.

Your reward is all the time you have been saving by not using social media. And investing that time in something more meaningful and productive. Never consider social media usage as a reward. With this mindset, you will never get to make out of the algorithmic world.

Also Read: 10 effective ways to Digital Detox.

What are you out of your social media feed?

Social media accounts show the best days of people. Account users mostly do not show the things they have been struggling with or the difficult situations they might be going through. It is all sunshine and rainbows when you click on someone’s profile.

However, you know that is not the truth. You too are among those people who post their best pictures and happiest moments for everyone to see. But when you quit social media, you begin to look deep into who you actually are outside your social media accounts.

There is no denying that social media influences young impressionable minds. These kids adopt a personality called “reel personality” instead of being their authentic selves. As those actions and personalities get a burst of laughter from them, they tend to think that it will make them likable to everyone else.

You need to dive deep and understand who you are as a person out of your social media feed. And that must be the goal for quitting social media.

Also Read: 10 signs you are sabotaging yourself.

Create an off-screen to-do list.

The only reason many people tend to get back on the social media bandwagon is they cannot find anything to do apart from that. Hence, this step is important. You need to make a list of things that you would have been doing if you were not wasting your time on social media.

As you have been keeping a record of your social media time and minimizing it every day, you will invest in doing something creative, productive, or social in real life. In those hours, you could be playing guitar, writing your novel, journaling, or learning a new language.

Also Read: How to plan your day to avoid doom scrolling?