I Detoxed From Social Media For A Year. Here's My Results
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So about a year ago, l made one of the best decisions of my life i.e. detoxing from all social media platforms.
And I have to admit that my life has improved a lot since then – specifically with regards to the following:
(i) Increased Productivity
I remember, back in the day when I used to write few sentences per day – because I'd easily get distracted by notifications from various social platforms.
Although it wasn't intentional, l would spend most of my valuable time scrolling through socials – instead of using it for pushing my grind forward i.e.;
You receive a notification whilst writing a blog post – then you just decide to check that single notification & continue with your work.
But we all know how these social platforms are designed i.e. they're designed to keep you on the platform for as long as possible (dopamine).
For this reason, I'd spend days to complete a single blog post – which only takes about 2 hours if you're fully focused.
But as soon as I detoxed from social media, I found out that my productivity levels skyrocketed – because I now had less distractions than ever before.
Thus, I was able to write more blog posts which I wouldn't be able to write pre my detoxing phase.
(ii) Improved Mental Health
Do you know that social media can affect your mental health?
Let me explain how & why:
You go on social media, then you see some of your age mates living a ‘better life’ than you i.e. renting bigger apartments, driving nice cars, eating at exotic places, and all that extra staff.
(Or even getting married lol)
You might feel a little bit frustrated by all this staff – especially if your life isn't as cool as theirs.
You'll fall in the comparison trap of comparing your life to others – which will always cause unnecessary stress & anxiety to you🤯.
But once you detox from social media, you'll have less room for comparison – and you'll do things at your own pace.
And I've to admit that my mental health has gotten way better when l detoxed from socials – since I now live my own life as l want, do things at my own pace – without having to worry about other people's lives.
Besides, most of the social media lifestyle is fake – so you might get stressed over things which aren't real – coz most people fake their life on social media just for ‘good public image’.
And just to add on, l was able to use all the time which l was wasting on socials to feed & strengthen my mind i.e. through reading self improvement books.
And that also adds on my mental health – which is quite great😁
(iii) More Time For Critical Thinking (Improved Decision Making)
Too many people don't have the time to sit down & think deeply about their lives – coz they use most of their time to scroll through socials.
For this reason, they spend their whole lives just living a mediocre life i.e. going anywhere where life takes them – which is bad.
Or in some cases, they allow social media to think for them i.e. if the majority of people on socials say this sh*t is 🆒️, most people just follow suit – instead of taking a pause & think for themselves if it's right or wrong.
As soon as l detoxed from social media, I was able to find more time for myself i.e. to carefully think about my life without any distractions.
And I have to admit that I made some of the best life-changing decisions of my life during that phase – since I was able to reflect back on my past actions, extract lessons from them, then plan for my future.
But if l had stayed on social media, I wouldn't be able to find that time for critical thinking – since I'd always be horned-in on socials.
NB: If you go to a quiet place alone (probably in nature), sit down, and have time to think, you might be able to come-up with some life changing ideas.
(iv) Better Sleeping Schedule
Back in the day, I used to go to bed around 10pm – only to find myself still awake at 3am🙄.
Why?
Because I'd tell myself that let me just view some few posts for 5 minutes then sleep.
But we all know how social platforms are designed?
The algorithm(s) knows exactly what you like – thus, they'll give you more of it on your feed.
That's why you see yourself spending countless hours on socials – because the platforms keeps showing you more cool posts that you crave to see.
And that was killing my sleeping schedule – and I’d spend the next day feeling tired & having minor headaches – due to lack of proper sleep.
But as soon as l said F.U to social media, l now have a better sleeping schedule – because l no longer have something to distract me during evenings.
(That blue light from your phone screen is bad for melatonin – a substance which is key when it comes to sleep)
Even my eyes have gotten more clearer coz I’m now having adequate sleep than ever before.
(v) Improved Social Skills
Social skills has decreased in recent years – since everyone is always busy starring at his/her phone each and every time i.e.;
You get into public transport then the first thing you do is to pull-out your phone...
You go to a public park then the first thing you do is to pull-out your phone...
Even in most homes, no one talks to each other – not because of beef or anything else, but because everyone is busy starring at his/her phone...
However, all this staff ruins your social skills – because you wont have time to interact with real people.
But as soon as l detoxed from social media, I had more time to interact with real people – which in turn, improved my social skills.
Because whenever l get to a public setting, I no longer pull-out my phone – coz I no longer have a platform to go to (other than the basic functions, which aren't interesting TBH).
For this reason, I'm forced to initiate conversations with people, so that I wont get bored by just sitting – starring at my surroundings.
Wrapping Up
So these are some of the ways in which social media detoxing improved my life.
At this point, I've been detoxing for almost a year now – and I have no regrets of doing it. (I wish I started sooner)
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