Is It Time for You to Take a Social Media Detox?
9 signs you need to less screen time — and what to do about it
I’ve been finding myself less interested in social media lately. I haven’t completely given it up since I like sharing my art and latest posts on there. But I know that I need a break when I’ve been consuming more than creating.
I wrote this article in late 2021, as part of my first zine, at a time when I was feeling overwhelmed with a constantly refreshing feed and a sense that I just wasn’t doing enough creatively.
After I got done promoting that zine, I took my own advice. And it might be time to again. If you’re getting sick of social, here’s your guide to abstaining from apps.
Is It Time for a Social Media Detox?
(from issue 1 of The Muse Manifesto)
You’ve probably heard the saying “less is more.” But if research from the University of Virginia is anything to go by, many people don’t quite believe it. The study, published in Nature in April 2021, found that most people try to add solutions to solve a problem rather than take something away. For example, when asked to improve a travel itinerary, just 28% of participants did so by eliminating destinations from it. And only 17% of participants actually removed passages from an essay, while the majority padded the word count to “improve” it.
In other words, less really is more, and more is too much.
Additive transformations, the kinds the research subjects gravitated towards, can seem like an easy fix. When we want to improve our habits, our instinct is often to add something new to our schedules: go to the gym after work, eat more healthy foods, or read a book each week.
But maybe the solutions are taking a walk during a lunch break instead of adding a trip to the gym, eating fewer sugary foods instead of spending more money to buy lots of pre-packaged “health foods,” and devoting 30 minutes to reading instead of watching “just one more episode.” These subtractive transformations (i.e., taking something away) can be just as powerful. And when we’re already overburdened, it’s actually the right thing to do. Why keep piling on more than you truly need?
Only you can decide if and when it’s time for something to go. But if you do have too much on your plate, here's a suggestion:
It's time for a social media detox.
What is a social media detox?
A social media detox is a break from social media — apps and sites like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and others. Essentially: no social media at all. This could last for a day, a week, a month, or a longer period if necessary.
Why “detox”? A detox, short for detoxification, is a process to remove harmful substances; it’s a term often used in the context of eliminating drugs or alcohol from the body. For some people, social media is just as dangerous and addictive.
Social media itself isn’t necessarily good or bad. Its value (or lack thereof) comes from how one uses it. Many of these apps have helped friends and family members stay connected. They also enable people to form positive community ties, establish support networks, and bring awareness to important issues. However, social media has been widely criticized for its effects on mental health, especially in young people, as well as being a central component in the spread of misinformation and political polarization.
When is it time to “detox”?
There isn’t a single indicator that you need to hit pause on your social media accounts. You could experience several of the symptoms below and still set effective boundaries with your online life. Conversely, you might experience none of these but suspect it’s time for a break anyway. Here are a few behaviors that might clue you in:
1. Your phone is the first thing you reach for in the morning and the last thing you look at before bed
And this doesn’t mean to shut off your alarm clock in the morning or set it at night. If you’re starting your day or ending it looking at other people’s lives, then you could be missing out on some prime time to focus on yourself.
2. You get stressed out “curating” your social media feed
Have you ever felt the pressure to post the “perfect” photo or video, or write the most attention-grabbing caption? Maybe you’ve even become an amateur photo editor to achieve “ideal” physical features in your photos. That perfectionism can skew our view of ourselves to dangerous degrees and make us feel like we need to put on a show for others. This is neither healthy nor sustainable and will leave you feeling inadequate in the long run. Remember that nobody is perfect, and the things we see on social media are not representations of real life.
3. You’re paying too much attention to numbers
With all that content curation, it’s easy to get wrapped up in followers, likes, comments, shares, and other metrics. But we are more than numbers. It’s fine to pay some attention to them if you’re running a business. However, if you’re constantly preoccupied with finding ways to boost your engagement, you’re likely to achieve little more than burnout (or playing the comparison game with other accounts). On that note...
4. You frequently compare your life to the lives of strangers
Think of someone you don’t know in real life that you follow online. Maybe it’s that Instagrammer with the spotless home, or the TikToker with millions of likes and followers. Every time they pop up on your feed, you might find yourself getting jealous, or feeling less than adequate. Hit “unfollow” if your self-worth has taken a nosedive.
5. You lose track of time on social media
Ever start scrolling through social media, look up, and realize it’s an hour later? That lost time is hard to get back, and it might even be a detriment to your productivity or your social connections. If you’re not sure how much time you spend on social media, a good place to start is to look at your app usage on your phone. Tally it up — what percent of your day is spent on these apps? (For example, assuming you sleep for eight hours, three hours of social media time takes up nearly 20% of your day!) Then answer the question: How much time am I willing to spend on social media? Compare those figures and make adjustments.
6. Your creative projects have hit a standstill
Working on your craft might be your reason behind wanting a break, but it doesn’t have to be. From personal experience, I find a social media detox to be useful when I want to concentrate on my creativity. Taking the hours I’d spend scrolling and focusing them on a new or existing project instead helps me make some progress, especially if I’ve been stalled on something. I also feel a lot more clear-headed to brainstorm something new.
7. Your mood shifts during or after using social media
Maybe you’ve been getting into heated political arguments with your relatives on Facebook. Or perhaps you’ve been hate-following some influencer (or an ex) on Instagram. If your time on social media is leaving you more irritable than when you opened the app, that may be a sign to set it aside for a while.
8. You’ve had social media negatively impact your personal or professional life
Whether it was a minor argument or something big, like getting dumped or fired, something as trivial as an app shouldn’t wreak havoc on your life. If you’re still dealing with the fallout, take some time away to recover. Then reassess the role you want social media to play in your future.
9. You took a break from reading this article to check your app of choice
Okay, that one’s cheating a bit. It doesn’t have to be this article. But if you notice you have a shorter-than-usual attention span, some time away from social media might help.
It’s possible to set boundaries with social media — following people who make you feel good, avoiding arguments with strangers (a.k.a. not “feeding the trolls”), and setting time limits. But if you notice that being online makes you feel worse and not better, that’s a good first indication that something’s not right.
Want a trial run of a “detox”? Choose one day (or a portion of it) to step away from your screen. No phone, no computer, no TV. Shut off notifications, sign out of your accounts, and maybe even delete the apps for the day. Put your phone or computer away altogether if necessary.
Think of this as a creative retreat. Spend this time by reading, writing, making some art, crafting something, meditating, exercising, going for a walk, talking to a friend, journaling — doing anything that doesn’t involve staring at a screen.
Or, if you want to engage in some truly subtractive thinking, don’t do anything. Give your brain a break from the constant flow of information.
More ways to quiet the “noise” of social media:
Keep your phone anywhere but by the bed at night. (And invest in an old-fashioned alarm clock if you don’t have one.)
Pay attention to how you feel when you sign in again. Has your view of social media changed? If so, how?
Unfollow the people who make you feel bad (or, if you can’t disconnect, limit their appearance on your feed).
Delete an app you don’t use much — or the one that’s the biggest timesuck.
Set screen time limits on apps so you don’t lose track of time.
Need to use social media for business? Create a schedule for when you can post and when it’s time to put the phone away.
Put your phone on airplane mode or “do not disturb” for some focus time.
Figure out how much time you spent on social media before and devote some portion of it (one-quarter, half, all) to your daily creative practice.
Try another social media detox... and maybe another afterwards... and another... making each one a little longer than the last.
Need some reading material for your social media detox? Get zines and more in my Gumroad shop.