Social Media Detox: 10 Secrets for Success

Is it time for a Social Media Detox? Social media is a powerful tool. It keeps us in touch with friends and family we don’t always get to see. It helps us keep up with what is going on in the world, and it lets us share our lives and powerful messages to uplift each other.

However, too much of a good thing can be a really bad thing. Here are 5 signs it’s time to learn the art of logging off, and 10 tips to make your social media detox a life-changing experience.

If you start reading the list and realize that it is time to find a better balance, don’t forget to sign up for my 10 Day Social Media Detox Email Challenge by clicking here.

5 Signs You Need a Social Media Detox

1. You find yourself comparing

When we compare ourselves to other people’s picture-perfect social media feed, we start to take OUR blessings for granted. We might start to think we aren’t good enough, we need a better body, more money, better talents, or more adventure, etc.

All those things are totally available to us. In fact, we may even already have them right in front of us. Yet, when we compare, we forget to notice this.

This is a sign it’s time for you to learn to be present in your own life. If you can start appreciating the life you have, it’s easier to begin to create the one you really want.

A great way to begin creating a life you love is to start by taking the free 10-day social media detox challenge. Just click the link below to sign up!

2. You feel fear, anxiety or negativity after spending time on your phone

With so much going on in the world right now, you might find yourself in a spin of fear, anxiety, anger, or hopelessness after scrolling through your feed. This is probably a sign that it’s time for a break. Keeping up with current events might be a good thing, but putting your self-care first will put you in a much better position to respond to the things that are going on around you.

Check out this post for some offline self-care ideas to make your life more zen.

3. You aren’t present in the moment

Have you ever been out to lunch with a friend that just sits on their phone the entire time? I have, and it sucks. I bet a lot of us don’t even notice how much we do this to our family and friends.

It’s great to keep up with our friends online, but if we aren’t being present with them when we are in person, our relationships suffer. I think we all have been guilty from time to time, so if this is the space you are in right now, it might be time to learn a better balance.

4. You feel like you don’t have enough time

Have you ever timed your social media use? For many of us, it’s more than we think.

If you’ve been feeling like you don’t have enough time, it might be time to pay attention to how much time you’re spending on social media. You might start noticing there are a lot more things checked off the to-do list when you find a better balance with social media.

5. You aren’t taking good care of yourself

Self-care is a must. For a lot of us physical and mental health are both often an afterthought, but if you aren’t taking care of your health, you might not notice until you lose it.

The problem with social media is that sometimes many of us use it to numb ourselves, instead of taking care of ourselves. If you aren’t sleeping well, exercising, eating healthy foods, focussing, or feeling joy and gratitude daily, it might be time to take a social media detox and get in touch with that person that lives somewhere inside of you.

If you didn’t do it earlier, check out this post for 72 self-care ideas, or click here for my 5 self-care hacks to make self-care easier for new moms.

10 Tips to make your social media detox a life-changing experience

Change is hard, work up to it

1. Turn off your phone.

If you notice that you can’t seem to resist the draw of social media, and want to be more present or productive, simply turn off your phone. Set a timer, or a goal of the things you want to accomplish and keep it off until the time is up or those things are done.

2. Log out or remove social media apps from your phone.

If you notice that you are randomly opening up to social media without even thinking about it, try logging out of your social media apps. Taking the time to type in your username and password might deter you from getting back on as often.

Another option is to try deleting the apps from your phone. You can log in through a browser instead once you choose to get back on.

3. Plan specific times throughout the day to shut your phone off.

Turn your internet or phone off at night, or during certain hours of the day. Dedicate this time to family, self-care, or something else. Try turning the internet modem off, or you can put it on a light timer so it will automatically turn off and on by itself.

4. Keep your phone away from your bed.

This will give you the opportunity to connect more with yourself or with your spouse, wind down at night, and prepare for the next day. It will also help you focus on more important things first thing in the morning before looking at your phone, and help you have a smoother more connected day.

5. Take my social media detox challenge.

Usually support and accountability can make trying something new a lot easier. Try taking my FREE 10 Day Social Media Detox Challenge. Sign up and you will receive daily emails with at least one action item to help you build a better and more balanced relationship with social media.

This challenge will not only help you cut back on social media, but it will help you replace it with self-care and habits that will make your life better all around. Click here to sign up.

Lasting Change Starts From the Inside: Remember Why You Are Doing This.

6. If you notice your brain comparing yourself to someone else, it might be time to hide their posts or unfollow for a bit.

The way you feel about yourself changes how you show up in the world. This is more important than you think. Eventually, as you work toward a better relationship with yourself, you begin to understand that nobody else’s successes or blessings will ever take away from yours. However, it is totally normal and ok if you are struggling with this. Sometimes giving yourself a break can put you in a better position to feel confident around everyone.

7. You don’t need fear or negativity in your life. Consider what toll these emotions are taking on you.

Anytime we feel fear, anger, or any type of negative emotion, it is totally normal and OK. However, it can send your brain into fight or flight mode. Unfortunately, you can never be as effective when you are in this part of your brain. It takes a lot of effort, energy, and self-care to come down from these.

Maybe engaging in a hard conversation with someone you love would be worth the negative feelings that you might face, but scrolling through anybody and everybody’s opinions on social media often is not worth it.

Weigh it out; is what I am getting from engaging in this worth the effort it will take to come back to a state of feeling peace and joy? A social media detox might help you feel more clear on what a healthy balance is for you.

8. The people sitting right in front of you need you and you need them- plan better ways to use your time.

Your relationships are important to you. Don’t take them for granted. Don’t miss out on the in-person connections you could be making.

It’s great to connect online when you can’t see someone in person, but being together is so much more powerful and meaningful. Make plans, and turn off your phone or put it away while you are busy making memories with others.

9. Don’t miss out on your dreams or take your blessings for granted- practice gratitude every day.

Gratitude is magnetic. “When you’re grateful for the things you have, no matter how small they may be, you will see those things instantly increase.”- Rhonda Byrne, The Magic.

You are totally capable of living whatever life you want to have. Comparing your blessings to other people’s just keep you stuck. However, counting your blessings opens your mind to all the wonderful things that already are in your life, and draws even more in at the same time.

If you notice yourself trying to fill a hole in your heart by using social media, try spending some time journaling a list of what you are grateful for instead! My Spiritual Self-Care Planner has a Daily Gratitude section dedicated to this very thing.  

10. Anxiety lives in the future, depression lives in the past- practice being present.

I mentioned this in the last tip, but it’s so important that I want to say it again, sometimes we use social media to fill a hole in our hearts. Naturally, people often try to fix this hole by living somewhere in a future fantasy world or regretting a life they didn’t have in the past.

Instead, create and enjoy the life you have RIGHT NOW. A trick to focus on being present in THIS VERY MOMENT is to engage any of your five senses. Shut your social media off, and think about your surroundings. What do you hear, what do you see, what do you smell, what do you feel, what do you taste?

You can go one step further and engage your five senses in something you enjoy, like listening to music, feeling the water on your skin as you take a bath, or taking in the scenery as you go for a walk or bike ride outside. If you need more ideas, you might find some you like here.