Have you ever felt like you needed a break? Not a break from school or from work, but a break from life in general. If you feel like you share more with your Instagram or Twitter community than with your family and close friends, it might be the right time to start a social media detox and to try to focus on what is truly important.
Although they contributed to broaden our horizons and gave us wonderful opportunities to connect with people worldwide, social media has radically changed the way our interactions work and modified our social relationships. We are now able to start, maintain and end a friendship or a relationship virtually without even having seen or having talked face to face with the other person. But what if we tried to focus on the people that are here, now, with us? That is what this social media detox is all about.
Most of the time, we are so caught up by our screens that when we don’t have access to them, we start to feel incomplete. That’s why there are several steps to follow in order to do your social media detox properly:
The first thing to do is to set objectives so that you won’t feel lost once you start: What activities do you lack time for? What do you want to spend more time on? How long do you need your social media detox to be? Do you need to uninstall all social media or simply to spend less time on the apps?
Once you’ve made your decision, choose a starting day. From my experience, it is easier to start a social media detox during the week, when you are busy with school or work. Then, uninstall the apps or set your timer. If you don’t feel ready to uninstall social media all at once, you can always choose to gradually reduce your time or the number of social media you use until you feel ready to get rid of them all.
The first few days might be a bit hard because checking social media is like an automatism, but don’t be too hard on yourself and make sure to take time to care for yourself. Remember that this break is a gift that you’re offering yourself. Take advantage of it to work on yourself and to reflect on what lead you there: Why did you need to take a break? What is there in social media that you like? What role does social media play in your life? Is it a way to keep in touch with other people or does it separate you from your loved ones? Are you satisfied when you see the number of likes on your posts or the number of followers you have? Does social media make you compare yourself with others in such a way that you end up feeling worthless or does it strengthen your self confidence? Do you feel like you are missing out when you don’t check your accounts? What can you do to spend less time on those apps when you will install them again?
