I Quit Social Media for 30 Days

I’ve been slowly cutting back on my social media use over the past couple of years. A lot of the social media apps that I used in the past (Instagram, Facebook, etc.) just aren’t fun anymore and it was natural/easy to stop using them. However, I realized that I wasn’t actually cutting back on my screen time/social media use as a whole, I was just replacing apps I didn’t like with social media apps I did like. So was I really getting any benefit from deleting Instagram/Facebook/etc off of my phone? Honestly, probably not. That realization sparked an idea though: what if I completely quit social media for 30 days? I mean, all of it. Might as well see what happens…

How to Quit Social Media

To start of this challenge, let’s lay out a game plan that answers the following questions:

What counts as social media? Ex: I normally don’t see YouTube and Reddit as real “traditional” social media, but for this challenge, I plan on cutting them out.
What positive habits am I going to replace the doom scrolling with?
How am I going to keep up with the news?

what counts as social media:

For this challenge, I’m counting any social media app (traditional or not) that I can get stuck doom scrolling or glued to videos for hours on end.

So, as much as it’s going to be a struggle, I’m going to count YouTube and Reddit for this challenge.

I’m also counting the more traditional social media apps like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, and won’t be using any of those.

positive habits to replace social media:

Anytime you want to make a habit change, especially removing a bad habit from your life, it’s so important to find good habits to replace it with.

I need to have a few different options for what I can replace social media with (depending on where I am.)

For example, I will include outdoor walks and doing a workout as good habits to replace social media with. But I can only do those habits when I’m at home, not at work. So I need to have other options that I can do in the office, as well.

At Home Habits:

Go on a walk
Cook a healthy meal / meal prep
Shop for groceries
Complete a workout
Journal
Clean the house
Spend time with family / friends

At Work Habits:

Read!!! (This is going to be my main social media replacement at work)
Meditate
Listen to a podcast / audiobook
Work on the blog

P.S. If you want an easy way to choose healthy habits to replace negative habits with, try creating a dopamine menu. I have a full blog post explaining how to do this (with a free aesthetic template) here.

Keeping up with the news:

I don’t love traditional news outlets on TV, etc., and find them hard to watch. It oftentimes feels very focused on the negatives because that’s what gets views.

So if I’m not going to be on social media or watching the news on TV, I need to get creative with ways to stay informed.

My plan is to listen to daily news podcasts that I already listen to and read the newspaper if I feel that’s not enough.

Honestly, I feel overwhelmed with the 24-hour news cycle right now anyway. Keeping up constantly can be draining and depressing. So cutting back to the essentials could be a positive change in itself.

What am I hoping to get out of this challenge?

There are a few changes I’m hoping to notice once I quit social media for 30 days:

☺️ To feel overall more contentment and joy with my own life and less comparison to others.

📖 To start naturally gravitating toward my positive habits (going on a walk, cooking a healthy meal, reading, etc.) and less drawn to picking up my phone 24/7.

😌 To feel more peace, calm, and acceptance of boredom. Right now, every time I’m bored for a second, I’ll put on a YouTube video or start scrolling through social media. That’s not a good way to live and I want to move away from the need for constant stimulation.

💰 To feel less influenced to buy unnecessary items that I see on social media and cut down on overall spending.

The Challenge (Day 1, Day 15, and Day 30 results)

Day 1

Starting on day 1, I’m feeling… glitchy. I am keeping a sticky note of how many times I feel the urge to pick up my phone and it’s insane.

After averaging it out, the numbers are downright embarassing.

I felt the urge to pick up my phone once every ~3 minutes.

EVERY. THREE. MINUTES.

Of course, there are other reasons to pick up my phone besides checking social media. I would also feel the urge to text someone or check email, etc. But for the most part, I just feel the urge to distract myself with something mindless.

Here’s to hoping the rest of the challenge gets better and this is just a day 1 problem…

Day 15

Halfway through the challenge, I’m feeling much better than on day 1.

The urges to pick up my phone and mindlessly scroll have massively decreased.

I often still find myself gravitating towards my phone, but for the most part, it’s not to check social media. It’s to text someone or do something else entirely.

Overall, I’m feeling more at peace, more calm, and less stressed.

I’m still getting news every day from podcasts, so I don’t feel uninformed. But I’m not feeling the stress of constant negative news reporting on social media, everyone’s comments and reactions to everything, everyone’s highlight reels of their own lives… etc.

I just feel better.

Day 30

By the end of the 30-day challenge, I’m feeling honestly incredible.

I really don’t feel the urge to scroll on social media hardly at all anymore.

There are still times where I’m bored/anxious and want to distract myself. But I’ve replaced my doomscrolling with healthier habits (like going on a walk, reading a book, writing in my journal, etc.)

My stress and anxiety have decreased significantly. They’re not fully gone, of course, but the difference is very noticeable to how I felt before.

I’m comparing myself to others less, worrying less about my daily life, less concerned about the negative news cycle.

All in all, I would highly recommend anyone struggling with overusing social media to try a challenge like this.

Staying off social media feels like second nature to me at this point and my life is better for it.

I Quit Social Media for 30 Days: Final Thoughts

This challenge honestly changed my life. I’m less addicted to my phone, not doomscrolling at all anymore, and have filled my time with healthier habits I’ve always wanted to do.

Instead of staring at my phone for hours on end, I’m working on my blog more, reading more, exercising more, getting outside more… I feel better and don’t want to go back to the days of doomscrolling every day.

Like I said before, I would highly recommend this challenge to anyone and everyone. Even if you don’t want to completely give up social media forever, doing a challenge (even if it’s just for a week or a day) can’t hurt.

See how you feel afterwards. See if you want to go back to scrolling social media as much as you did in the past. I can almost guarantee you won’t want to.

If you enjoyed this blog, you’ll also love:

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“Good” vs. “Bad” Habits 🍏
How to Become a Morning Person (Easily) ☀️

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