This post is all about a simple social media detox challenge that will change your life.
Disclaimer – This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
If you feel like you waste a lot of time on socials. or are feeling a little too anxious or getting affected by social media a lot, are way too moody. and just want a break and a reset to be honest, this challenge will do wonders.
Let’s be honest, getting off of social media is not that easy, need to take little steps. 7 day challenge for you.
you’re gonna come back feeking free and so much more confident.
I always say you don’t know it until you do it. All these benefits on the internet might seem a little fluff to you right now, but trust me when you experience them for yourself, you’re going to wanna stick to it.
The simplest thing that I took from this challenge was to turn off my notifications. And I’ve never felt the need to turn them back again! It’s just so less distracting and I can get on the app when I want to. And if someone as social as me didn’t feel like she was missing out on something, I’m sure you’ll be fine too!
benefits of staying off social media
Here are some benefits of staying off social media that you can look forward to while doing the social media detox challenge.
1. You save so much time
Starting with the one that we’re talking about today. Your 5 minute social media breaks always last till 2 hours. And the worst part? You end up feeling exhausted instead of feeling refreshed.
2. improved posture
Take a look at how you’re sitting right now. Seriously. Most people are sitting in a bad posture while scrolling through their phones resulting in increased neck and back issue.
3. avoid video fatigue
This might be a good reason to explain why you’re always yawning on the 3rd zoom call of the day, lol. Jokes aside, watching video content for continuous hours causes fatigue and irritability.
4. less stress and anxiety
Social media has a negative impact on our happiness and mood. when you’re away from social media, you’re more focused on your life and not on what everyone else is up to.
5. less strain on eyes
Idk about you but I usually lie down when I’m watching videos and that causes strain in the eyes. And blue rays from the screen are also harmful for your eyes.
6. No more fomo – confidence
Quitting social media will actually improve your confidence. You won’t feel the need to be comparing your regular days to someone else’s highlights (even the fake ones!)
7. strengthened bond
You can start switching your social media time with your family and use that time to talk to your loved ones, have distraction free dates and conversations that matter.
8. more present
Try to stay away from technology for 20 minutes today. You’ll automatically start noticing so many things around you and thoughts in your head that you were otherwise not paying attention to! Because of the devices in your hand.
9. better sleep
If you keep on scrolling through tiktok till 3 am, until your eyes shut down, you already know what I’m saying. It’s recommended to stay away from your phones atleast 2 hrs before you sleep.
10. more in tune with yourself
the main reason why we pick up our phones is usually boredom but why is it so hard to deal with? Why can’t you spend 10 minutes sitting by yourself doing nothing?
11. become more conscious of the content you’re consuming
When you realize the benefits of staying off social media, you automatically don’t want to get stuck in that cycle again. And become more cautious of the content you consume online.
social media detox challenge
This is a simple 7 day challenge to get started with. Ofc, you wouldn’t suddenly quit social media. But this challenge will give you a sneak peak on how much your life can improve even if you make these small changes. And you might just find something that works perfectly well for you and you can add it to your schedule.
Before the challenge – Before starting the social media detox challenge, I want you to journal about “why you want to do it?” It’s really important to have a clear intention before starting the challenge. This will also help you push yourself in moments when hanging out on Instagram would be more enticing.
I would also love to ask you to do a daily check in with yourself about how you’re feeling. Often times we don’t check in with our feelings and that’s why we’re not able to pinpoint the effect that little things have on our day to day life.
7 day social media detox challenge
Day 1 ~ turn off notifications
All you need to do today is turn off your notifications for the next 7 days.
This is literally the first thing every tech expert recommends, if you want to reduce your social media usage. I turned off my notifications for everything except watsapp, and I’ve never felt better.
This way you can get inside your inbox at your own time when you want to connect with yuor friends, instead of constantly being available for everyone.
And if someone really needs you, they won’t mind giving a call. You won’t be missing out on any imp conversations happening on comments and your DMs.
Day 2 ~ block, unfollow, remove
Social media is full of all sorts of content – good and bad – inspiring, funny, cringe you name it. When you enter a social media platform you’re making a choice to consume with any type of content.
And thanks to the algorithms, you get more of what you engage with. so, if you think that social media is making you feel anxious, stressed or bad about yourself, chances are the content you’re watching is not right for you.
I mean, I follow people who I know if I watch their videos I’m going to end up getting positive vibes and inspired to do something good. And we need to thank social media to give us access to that sort of thing.
So today take some time to unfollow, remove and block everyone who doesn’t make you feel good or inspires you to work on your goals. Now, I know you need soemthing for entertain,ent as well but the entertainment that makes you exeprince negative emotions is not worth it.
Day 3 ~ list of things you want to do instead
You need to fill the social media void with something else. You can’t just leave yourself to get bored. Because that will only make you miss social media even more. Make a list of things that you want to do in that time. Start a new book, play card games with your family, or maybe finally get soemthing done that’s been on your list forever.
Day 4 ~ no phone in the morning – use that list to do something
Don’t get up and start scrolling through Instagram or mails first thing in the morning. It immediately switches your mind to reactive mode, i.e. you wake up and start thinking about what others are doing or what other people are expecting of you. Instead of thinking about what you want your day to look ;like.
Your mornings should be kept for yourself. Keep them to work on yourself before you go out and work for anyone else. But again fill the void. You can start a simple morning routine, something that you get excited to do . Even if that looks like having your morning coffee quietly sitting on your porch.
Day 5 ~ clean your phone screen
Remove all the apps that you don’t really use. Basically, just remove all the apps from your phone screen so that you don’t have easy access to them. I mean, how many times have you opened your phone and went straight to tiktok without even realizing. It’s become an unconscious habit now!
But when you remove all the apps from their usual position you’ll be able to catch yourself in the process and realize you’re doing it again. Then you have a choice whether or not to continue.
Day 6 ~ focus hour
Schedule 2 hours today where you won’t use any social media apps (hell, not even your phone) and just focus on getting work done. You’ll be astonished to see how productive you can be in just 2 focused hours.
Do anything you need to do to remove distractions, even if that means putting your phone in another room. But let’s be real, what if you get an important call?
Use apps like freedom to block all the social media apps from your phone and desktop for that period of time so this way you won’t be able to open them even if you want to.
Day 7 ~ no screen while eating
I have this weird habit of watching a Modern Family episode while eating. And I’m sure you have your own version of it.
But use this last day to be more present today (one of the main benefits of staying off of social media). And one way you can do it is by not watching anything while eating.
And you’ll notice how much more mindful you are of everything you’re having and how it tastes. and maybe some interesting conversations would start developing on the table.
Other Social media Detox ideas
1. no phones at night
I’ve noticed that whenever I consume a lot of “trash content” in the evening, I always wake up feeling anxious or weird. You’ve already tried no social media in the morning to keep your mornings for yourself.
Now, keep your evenings to do things that actually help you relax after a long day. Replace your phone with a book (the spanish love deception is a nice romcom) or maybe spend this time with your partner discussing how your day was.
2. whole social media detox day
Stay off of social media for an entire day. It’s not gonna be easy for sure, but this will help you reap the actuall benefits of a social media detox. And you’ll end up feeling so much more refreshed.
This also helps your brain realize that if you can spend a day without constantly checking up on everyone, or responding to msgs, or can pass your time with better things than social media. And that’s truly liberating.
3. go on a walk instead of scrolling socials to take a break
Everytime you feel like you need a break, instead of opening Instagram, go on a walk or do 5 pushups. This way you’ll save yourself from straining your eyes looking at a screen. And you’ll also get some movement in.
IT’s a win-win!
But honestly, it’ll make you realize that doing a physical activity during your breaks makes you feel so much more refreshed than scrolling through social media. Which a) ends up expanding your break time b) drains your energy making you less productive.
4. block all socials on desktop
How’re you supposed to get work done if you can see facebook notifications popping in another browser, or are constantly getting mail updates? I really don’t get why we need to access these apps on desktops? It’s bad enough we have constant access on our phones.
So, block all social media apps/websites on your desktop. Keep it a distraction free zone. You can also use apps like freedom to easily block these apps atleast for your work hours.
5. only use social media for 1 hr
Did you know, according to studies, the avg screentime worldwide is 6hr 58 min, and then we complain about not having enough time.
So, today limit your social media usage to 1 hour. It might feel bit of a stretch but 1 hour on social media is long enough to check up on EVERY thing. I know it’s a bit of a stretch but This will free up so much of your time and make you realize how much you can actually get done.
6. one platform limit
This is a simple task for this social media detox challenge. You can only use one platform today. I know you don’t like playing favorites but you need to make a choice today 😉
This alone will limit the amount of content you consume and therefore, reduce your screen time. Unless, you end up in an infinite scroll.
7. keep your phones in a box when out with friends
This is the best social media detox challenge. While hanging out with your friends, ask everyone to put their phone in a box and keep it away. I know it’s important to capture memories but sometimes, it’s even more important to LIVE them!
This way no one else will be fighting for your attention except the people present over there and you’ll be able to fully enjoy the moment and just have fun.
In fact, have you ever noticed how sometimes you forget about your phone when you’re really having fun.
8. can’t use social media more than 10 mins at a time
The world part about opening a social media app is that you get sucked into it. I mean, there have been so many times when my 10 minute breaks have turned into 3 hours. You go from your home page, to DMs to explore page and so on.
So this challenge will allow you to only use social media 10 mins at a time. this way you’ll be able to get your breaks without getting into the infinite scroll cycle.
9. every time you use socials, Notice how you feel rn
And if you’re using social media a lot (which I hope you’re not since you’re doing this challenge) maybe do a journal entry twice a day. It’ll just allow you to be more aware of how a certain type of content makes you feel.
We consume so much information throughout the day and hardly take any time to process it. This’ll be a great way to just sit down and process your thoughts and feelings. so, hoepfully you can use this aware to be more concious about your choices.
10. no phones in bedroom
By now, you might’ve realized that I’m not a big fan of phones in the bedroom ( or worse, under your pillow). You’ve already tried no phone mornings and nights. So what’s the point of your phones inside the bedroom really?
But I get it you might need it in case of emergency.
But atleast keep it out of your reach, on the other corner of the room, and NOT your bedside table. Limit your phone usage at nights and in the morning as much as you can. Use an actual alarm clock instead of using your phone’s alarm. This sunrise alarm clock uses natural sounds and gradually increases the light to wake you up in the morning.
This post is all about a simple social media detox challenge that will change your life.