Addiction to our smartphones and the internet can mean that we could be missing out on a lot of life around us. This is especially true when we look at social media addiction, which can leave us feeling demoralized, lacking confidence, and feeling discontented with our lives.
Thus, being intentional about taking social media breaks, or social media detoxing, is important. But while there are many articles that tell you what to do, how in this one, we look at what NOT to do when detoxing from social media.
Not finding a replacement activity
The time you spend scrolling on social media needs to be filled. Simply saying you will detox from social media and not finding something else to do is setting yourself up for failure. Therefore, always have other activities planned when you begin your social media breaks. The new activities will keep your mind engaged so you don’t feel the urge to go back to social media.
Failing to deactivate
When you want to take an extended break from social media, then not deactivating your account is also a big mistake. When your account is active, all you need to do is open it, and you are back in chaos. Thus, to truly break from social media, ensure you deactivate the accounts and even delete the social media apps. You can always download them when you need them.
Trying to quit all of a sudden
When trying to take a break from social media, another mistake is trying to take that break all of a sudden and out of nowhere. Our minds have a hard time with sudden change; thus, trying to take a social media break all of a sudden can leave you feeling withdrawn and unhappy. So, instead, take small, incremental breaks frequently. Reduce the time spent on social media with each passing day and every few days, increase the time spent on social media.
These small changes help ease your brain into life without social media so that when you finally decide to take that big break, your brain is already used to spending less time on social media anyway. This makes the transition to a fully social media-free life easier and smoother.
Taking a break from social media is one of the best things that you can do for yourself. However, ensure that you do not make the mistakes above and many more, or you may never detox from social media.