9 Powerful Benefits to a Social Media Detox
If you are reading this, it might mean that you are searching to de-stress.
We often hear of influencers of all kinds taking a ‘social media detox’ but what does that exactly mean?
Our generation is built on social media. There are an incredible amount of platforms that you can easily tap on to be shown what is going on all over the world. It’s an incredible thing but it definitely can come at a cost.
Why can social media be damaging?
The truth is, the instant gratification that we so often seek from a ‘like’ here or a ‘swipe there’ can be quickly met by feelings of inadequacy.
For example, Instagram is an extremely popular platform where you will find influencers of all kinds. These influencers show their lifestyles of acai bowls and avocado toasts for breakfast – or they show their expensive clothes and their cool cars. Maybe they are in Bali one week, and in Paris the next. Whatever you may be looking at, it’s in your face and it’s extreme. Happy thoughts quickly turn to negative thoughts.
Try not to compare yourself.
It’s easy to start to compare your life to these ideals of the ‘perfect person’ when it’s all that you see.
The truth is, you are not being shown the reality of any of these situations. In no shape or form would I ever want to belittle these people – but I just want to bring to light the reality that no one shows the rough times in one’s life. Everyone is a real person with real imperfections and it’s important to remember that when you find yourself comparing your life to theirs.
What can you do when social media becomes too much?
As we’ve mentioned, social media can be toxic to your mental health. It’s important to take moments to step away from it all so you can re-evaluate your mental space.
A few months ago, when Isolation hit – I found myself weighed down and stressed from social media. I found it extremely powerful to put my phone down, and take a breath. I had to accept that my mental health was more important than anything on social media. The internet will always be there. You have to take care of you before you can take care of anyone or anything else.
Here are 9 things that I did to help me during my social media detox to feel better!
1. Gratitude
I could not stress this enough. It’s important to remind yourself of your blessings in life. No blessing is “too small”. On social media, it’s easy to think someone has ‘more than you’ or you don’t have enough of them. While you are taking a break from it – remind yourself how lucky you are to have what you have right now.
I find that after writing down even just a few, I feel a lot better!
2. Create an awesome, healthy, daily routine
Take your time and create a plan that energizes, motivates, and makes you happy! Start with writing out a plan that starts your morning off right and go from there! Work in your healthy food you want to eat, what work-outs you’d like to do.
I love including time to do whatever you want to do – paint, sing, write, ANYTHING! It’s important to create a plan that leaves you feeling fulfilled with your day.
Just remember to leave social media out for now.
3. Surround yourself with positivity
You often hear the term, “you are who you surround yourself with” and I truly believe that. Sometimes that means you have to distance some people in real life during your social media detox – and that’s okay.
But above all – YOU are your biggest company. YOU are the person you spend the most time with. Meaning, I believe that you have to do whatever you can to make sure that you surround yourself with positivity. Whatever this may be.
Some ways to surround yourself with positivity:
- Find and listen to podcasts that inspire you
- Read a book (new or old) that you find lights you up and you enjoy
- Make playlists of your favourite music that brightens your spirit
- Reach out to a loved family/friend that truly sparks a light in you
- Do something you love to do that you haven’t done in awhile
4. Spend time improving yourself
My biggest advice is to spend time on yourself daily. If there is anything you take away from your social media detox – it is that you figure out what you need to do to improve yourself. The goal is to work on one thing every single day that makes you proud of yourself.
Dive into your self-care routine and really spend time figuring out the technicalities. Get deep!
5. Get your finances in order
Take this moment to get your money management in order. Save money by allocating where and when all of your bills are coming in and out. Make saving plans and coordinate your goals for the upcoming month.
6. Spend time with your loved one(s)
Pull up your favourite movie, invite them to join you and get close (if you can).
When I was feeling down and out the other week, Cam made sure to flick on my favourite movies, get the blankets and snacks out and sit through a little movie marathon with me.
Sometimes the best therapy you need is to just turn it all off, and tune into something else.
You can find some fun, new ways to spend time together – even when stuck inside!
7. Learn something new
Spend your time off with improving your knowledge. Now, I don’t necessarily mean school or career wise. I mean something that you are generally interested in that you want to improve.
Some things you can learn from:
- Watch a few TED talks that inspire you
- Invest in an online course that peaks your interest
- Enter that MasterClass you’ve been staring at
- Practice that guitar in the corner of your room
- Read some blogs and/books that teach you something new
8. Start your journal
Okay, I am a huge advocate of journaling. If you’ve read my past posts on achieving your goals, or learning how to set goals, you know that I believe that visualizing and writing it down is so impactful. You can create and manifest your goals into your reality! What better time than to start now? Strengthen that power and learn how to harness the law of attraction!
9. Self-love
Take this break as a time to reconnect with yourself. You are such a powerful, strong being and nothing on that phone can take that away from you.
The world is a messy, wild place but you are not. Take this time to appreciate the person that you are, and remember who you are inside.
Ask yourself : Who are you? Who do you hope to become?
When you return to the internet – you will remember that you are stronger than anything that wants to bring you down. Only you know who you are – no one can take that away from you.
Return to the internet more powerful than ever, because, you know what? You’ve lived without it and you THRIVED.
Question: Have you ever taken a social media detox? Would you try it? 🙂
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Much love,
Pam
I have tried a social media detox. Started it last year and at first I was unsure, weighed down with the fear of missing out. But I figured if it was really important, the news would find its way to me. It worked wonders for my mental health. Now I do it every so often when I feel I’m losing my grip on my identity. I readily recommend to anyone. I liked your insight into some of the things you can do when away from social media.
FOMO is definitely a hard thing to overcome while practicing a social media detox. I definitely understand! I love that way of thinking you had though! “If it was really important – it will find it’s way to me”. GENIUS.
Thank you so much – I am very appreciative of those kind words!
I think especially as bloggers we can become addicted to social media. I get stressed that if I’m not constantly posting, promoting, and engaging, I will lose my place in the algorithm and my blog traffic will go way down. But that’s not totally true! Taking some time away might help me come back with a clear head. Thanks so much for sharing, Pam. Great post!
Julianne, I totally agree! As a blogger, it’s so easy to get lost in the thought of not having enough time to get to everything, and needing to be on EVERY single platform all at once, promoting and networking. It becomes overwhelming at times!
Great insight you have. When feeling run down – take some time to rejuvenate your brain and you could come back feeling better than before and crush it!
Thank you so much, Julianne!!
Great tips, Pam! Social media can be a lovely place, but it can be very damaging to your mental health if you’re not careful! These are great things to keep in mind when feeling overwhelmed with the socials <3
Agreed, Amelia! It’s easy to get lost in all the hustle and bustle! Thank you so much – that makes me very happy!
I love watching tutorial videos and taking online courses, or learning something new from podcasts when I need to get away from social media. It’s strange how the Internet is also the source of our social media detox. Thanks for sharing this list!
On a side note, your site is beautiful and I do not think it is THAT slow at all!
OU, I like that! I never thought about it. You can DEFINITELY detox from ‘social media’ yet still be online. You’re right, the internet is still a really great source which can give us information, music, movies and tv shows, ideas for self-care and so much more!
PS wow, that truly means A LOT to me! Thank you so so much!
That’s exactly what most of us need 😉 I usually do a social media detox once a month it helped me a lot!
I also love Ted talks, journaling ad gratitude 🙂 we’ve some common habits
Thanks for sharing
YES! I love that idea of scheduling a detox monthly. I think that is so smart! We have a lot in common! Thank YOU so much for reading and commenting, today!
I needed to read this today! I’ve been getting so overwhelmed with comparing myself to those on social media, due to blogging and trying to do my own promotion. Thank you for grounding me today!
Yes, Brittany! I can relate to this so so much. Social Media is all about comparison and feeling like you should be somewhere or look a certain way or this or that. It’s so overwhelming! It helps so much to just turn it all off sometimes and reconnect to WHO I am and WHO I wish to be! I am so glad I got to provide you with some comfort today. That means a lot to me.
I have thought about doing something just like this so thank you for calling and pointing it out!
Good to know some other people think like this.
I’m excited for you to try it out, Tim! It’s truly a very useful tactic! I’m happy you find it helpful!!
Lovely post, I definitely need a social media detox from time to time myself, otherwise I go crazy. Thanks for sharing, really enjoyed reading your post!
xoxo Olivia | http://www.oliviaandbeauty.com
Thank you so much, Olivia! I agree! I need to schedule some ‘me’ time, often!! Thank you so much for reading! I’m so happy you enjoyed! x
I have never tried a social media detox, but love the idea of it. I held out on getting a smartphone until 2015 because I knew I’d spend more time than I should on it, and sure enough, I was right. Currently, most of my social media time is spent promoting my blog. I am currently writing a novel, and blogging slightly less would allow more time to concentrate on that. There is a certain amount of stress that’s induced by striving for blog deadlines and then feeling compelled to constantly promote them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Can’t wait until we get to the point where we don’t need to promote so much. Thanks for sharing Pam.
I’m excited for you to try it! and wow, I am right with you, Josh! That constant feeling of promoting your blog – on every single platform – at all times. It can definitely get addicting and overwhelming! Hang in there Josh! I know it will all pay off very soon and definitely take those much needed breaks! They’ll reward you! Thanks so much for reading!!
Great post. I’ve tried in the past and it has always been great. Sometimes you just need to. I can definitely use some “me” time.
you’re very right! Sometimes a good chunk of ‘me’ time is all our mental health needs! Thanks so much for reaching out today, Kim!!
I LOVED this. I read about the benefits of a social media detox recently and I decided that next month I am going to take each Saturday off social media completely. I even found a cool little app that blocks Insta and Facebook so I can’t have a sneaky peak! Loved the tips to do to improve your life in the downtime, so I don’t spend it in front of the TV. Thank you! Dharma x
That’s SO awesome, Dharama! I absolutely love that! Scheduling it definitely goes a very long way! It’s like a little reward at the end of the month!
Thank you so much, I appreciate it a lot!
Every time I do a social media detox it is apparent how awful it is on my mind and spirit. Although I can share powerful content to mamas, it is also draining consuming all the toxicity and junk. Thank you for these simple steps!
I hear ya, Adriane! Sometimes we don’t realize just how much toxicity we are taking in! I’m happy you practice social media detoxing! Thank you so much for sharing with me!!
I loved this Pam ! I did a post recently on Social Media detoxes and I agree wholeheartedly to this. It’s so important to unplug often and find time to get in touch with reality. I love doing self care days on days when I do my social media detoxes !
Thank you SO much Nons! Oh wow, I would absolutely love to read your post!! I am sure it’s lovely! What a lovely reminder! You are so right , it’s so important! Thank you so so much x
I love this post, a little over a year ago I took a 6-month break from social media and wow I can not even begin to tell you how much that changed me and my productivity too! Now I use social media for business but I try my best to get it done and remember to stay focused on the here and now. You make so many good points in this post that are surely going to help a lot of people. Thank you for your insights!
I honestly, absolutely LOVE that! I feel like that must’ve been so liberating and you must’ve learned so so much about yourself! I highly encourage anyone to take a break from it all just to check back in with themselves. I did it for a couple months (during quarantine) and it impacted me so much! I can only imagine how much it probably impacted you positively in 6 months!! Wonderful! Thank YOU so much!