Social media detox

Overview

A social media detox (SNS-dachi, literally "cutting off social media") means deliberately cutting back on social media for a set period, or quitting it completely. It is one kind of digital detox, and what sets it apart is that it focuses on social media rather than your whole phone.

The length varies from person to person: some do it for just one day, others for longer periods like a week or a month. Some people delete the apps completely, while others only turn off notifications. What matters is deliberately putting distance between yourself and social media.

Signs you need a social media detox

There are signs that it's time to consider a social media detox: the first thing you do when you wake up is check social media, notifications distract you even in class or at work, you scroll your timeline endlessly before bed, you feel down after seeing other people's posts, and you check over and over whether a question has come into your question box.

These may be signs that social media is starting to take over your life. Social media is a tool, and being controlled by a tool gets things backwards. The same goes for a question box: your life doesn't exist for your question box; your question box is one part of your life. This reversal of priorities can be a reason to think about a social media detox.

How to do a social media detox

You don't have to quit all at once. Cutting back in stages is the realistic way. First, turn off notifications. Next, limit yourself to opening social media up to three times a day. If that's still not enough, remove the apps from your home screen. The last resort is deleting the apps.

For the person answering a question box, leaving a quick note like "I'm taking a break for a while" before starting a social media detox is also a way of being considerate to your followers. Only after stepping away might you notice how much time you were spending on social media. Based on that realization, you rethink how you use it after you come back.

Guidelines for length and tips for keeping it up

If it's your first time, trying a social media detox for one full day is the realistic place to start. A one-day social media detox can give you the sense that "it's less of a problem than I expected." The next stage is a 48-hour weekend. Spend your days off offline and think about how to use the time when you're not looking at social media. If you want to reset the habit itself, one week to one month is a rough guide, but seeing your chosen period through matters more than how long it is.

There are three tips for keeping it up. First, decide on a replacement activity in advance. To prepare for the moments when you want to open social media, set up a substitute such as "When I feel like opening it, I'll read five pages of a book" or "I'll go for a walk." Second, create physical distance. Small barriers, such as moving the apps into a folder on your second home screen page or not bringing your phone into your bedroom, may help. Third, tell the people around you before you start. That announcement can push you to keep going for the period you chose.

When it's over, it is also a chance to choose which social media to bring back. You don't need to restore everything, and you can simply delete any app you found you didn't miss.