My top resolution this year was to get off my phone. I deleted TikTok last year, but unfortunately I immediately replaced TikToks with Reels. My screen time did not change one bit. I started by deleting TikTok and Snapchat, simply because they didn’t make me happy. I hated what I was seeing there, and I hate Snapchat culture (which could be a whole article itself). I wanted to replace scrolling with healthier habits, but I had a few reservations about making the change.
First, I was concerned about staying connected with friends and family from home. Unfortunately, the main way I stay connected when I’m at school is through social media. Second, I like posting on Instagram! It’s fun to put together a whole post: pictures, captions, songs, everything. Thankfully, it was easy to come up with some solutions. I deleted everything from my phone and put Instagram on my iPad, I got all of my friends’ mailing addresses, and I am working on releasing my FOMO. So far, these solutions are working great. I don’t always have my iPad on me, so I don’t always have access to doom scrolling on Reels. But I still have the option to post when I do have it. Since I can’t just scroll endlessly anymore I have been finding a lot of new ways to keep myself busy. Some of them still involve my phone, like reading e-books and magazines on loan from Libby and getting very into my farm on HayDay. However, these activities are certainly less toxic than rotting my brain with short form content. Another way I am passing my time now is by sending snail mail. This is a much more fun way to stay connected with my people from home. I love crafting, and who doesn’t love getting something fun in the mail. I am also focused on thinking less about what everyone on social media is doing because it does not positively add to my life in any way. If anything it makes me feel so much worse. Even when I was on social media, I still felt left out. The neverending cycle of trends and travel-dumps can take a toll on the brain. So instead of feeling left out, I am feeling grateful that I don’t feel like I have to keep up with everyone anymore. I know myself well, but I am going to learn so much more.
It hasn’t been very long, but I already feel better and I can tell that I am going to follow through on my social media detox.