Quitting social media changed my life, forever.
The emotional pacifier.
Thats what social media has been fro me for nine, whole years.
This is how quitting social media is changing my life forever, i’ll never look back.
I’m not here to convince you of how terrible social media can be for your brain, your body, and your mood. Odds are, theres at least one person in your life thats either quit social media themselves, telling you to quit, or to at least “put your phone down”.
Mine was my husband, well actually he began making the comments back when we were still newly dating. And, for the longest time I didn’t seem to understand how much time I was truly spending on my phone. Everyone in the room could be having a conversation but me, because I was checking what people in other states (that I didn’t even know) ate for breakfast.
Sad, believe me I know. Well, now I do.
For four and a half years I’ve been telling him how unhappy I was, how I cant seem to find the meaning or direction in my life, or how I can’t seem to find enough time in a day to to everything that needs done as a homemaker. You know, things like the laundry that piled up every week, the dishes strung about the house, taking the time to make myself and my children real nourishing meals, working out, self development, and self care time.
His answer wasn’t always the same, but it often was variations of these… “how much screen time have you been having on your phone”? Or “maybe you should delete all your social media for a month, and just live for a minute”.
I wish I had known then how smart he really is, and how right he was.
I had spent years building my social media (specifically instagram) up, following niche accounts, and making my feed look cohesive and inviting. Years interacting with people i’d never meet in person, and who quite frankly couldn’t care less if they ever did. Years trying to make viral content to get more sales from whatever hobby I was on that year.
And just when it worked, I quit.
10 Reasons to Quit Social Media (my reasons)
1. “Life is too busy, there’s not enough time in a day”
One of the biggest reasons I made the decision to quit social media was the constant feeling that I didn’t have enough time in a day. The days would just speed by, to-do lists would remain unfinished, and I would have a constant feeling of overwhelm.
Not to mention, instagram was the first thing I would look at in the morning. This was both draining, and would leave me feeling uninspired and groggy. Thats not a good way for anyone to start their day.
On lower screen time days, I was spending 3-4 hours a day on my phone. When I would have bad mental health days, I was spending 5-7 hours A DAY on my phone. And these phases would come every few weeks.
- On the weeks I was spending an average of 6 hours per day on my phone, that was 42 hours a week. Say this would happen once a month – thats 504 hours of screen time a year, or 21 whole days a year spent staring at my cell phone.
- Now, if you add in the average from the other 40 weeks in the year that I was spending around 3 hours a day on my phone, thats another 840 hours per year, or 35 days per year, completely wasted.
- Thats a grand total of 1,344 hours per year, or 56 days A YEAR spent on my phone. Thats nearly two months of every single year.
Now, I spend an average of 1-3 hours a day (mostly listening and not even having my phone in my hand) and my app usage is much different. I spend a lot of time listening to self care tips videos, and other self development style video on youtube, I listen to a lot of podcasts, I learn things I want to learn, and I use apps that help me with my work.
It helps that we live so off grid, so we do not yet have a TV. This makes it really easy to only listen/watch things that actually serve me.
| Daily Average (hours) | Weekly (hours) | Monthly (hours) | Yearly (hours) | Yearly (days) |
| 3 hours | 21 | 84 | 1008 | 42 |
| 4 hours | 28 | 112 | 1344 | 56 |
| 5 hours | 35 | 140 | 1680 | 70 |
| 6 hours | 42 | 168 | 2016 | 84 |
2. My Children
Sounds cliche, I know. But – another huge reason I decided to quit social media was my kids.
I noticed that checking, scrolling, and replying to messages sometimes became a priority over many of the small, but meaningful things in my life. This included:
- Taking the time to cook meals that take more than 20 minutes, and are nourishing for my family.
- Instead of taking time to actually PLAY with my children, I would skip it all together or not be fully present – I’d be thinking about other things I felt I needed to do.
- Truly acknowledging my children’s emotions, needs, and what they had to say. I felt I was brushing off things that I should have been more present for.
- Not doing as many activities as I should for my children, because I had “too much to do”.
One day I had a sudden thought of imagining my children spending their time how I was. This broke my heart.
3. Lying to myself
The lies I told myself:
- “Social media is just for. my business”
- “I have to be on here or my art business wont grow”
- “i’ll just set app limits, this will help me”
- “My sales will drop if I dont post”
- “All I need to do is go viral one more time”
- “All this work will pay off in the end”
These are all lies I told myself, so that I could keep using social media as an emotional crutch. But, the truth was that after I would post to instagram, facebook, or tiktok – I would them scroll for. an hour. And then if I felt stressed, bored, or lazy I would open it again for another endless hit of doom scrolling.
4. Fractured Attention Span
Because I was spending so much time doom scrolling, I was getting bursts of dopamine rushes over, and over again. Every single day.
This made it hard to stay focused on anything that took more than 30 seconds to make, to learn, or to solve. And, if I did take the time to learn or do something that takes a greater volume of time, it was very hard to stay focused, not look for shortcuts, and actually retain the information.
5. Loss of Creativity
As an artist, I thrive on creativity, sudden ideas, and taking the time to simply create. Because I was following many, many other artists and rapidly soaking up hundreds of creative ideas a day I couldn’t com up with my very own creative ideas. My mind was always blank, or busy comparing myself to other artists – most of which were not even in the same niche as me, or using the same mediums.
Social media robbed my of my personal creativity.
I began losing interest in my art, which negatively effected my business, my income, and my day to day mood.
6. No Time to just “Be”
Social media at our fingertips, makes it very easy for us to spend any second of down time we have doom scrolling.
This results in incredible fast consumption of short form content, no dead time, no time in your own head, and definitely no time for an ounce of boredom.
It starts to own you.
I found myself not having any time for my own thoughts, which left me not making very thorough decisions for myself – or being able to come to my own conclusions about topics I was seeing.
It was like what others were saying, and doing was enough for me – i never took the time to formulate my own thoughts and opinions.
7. Waking up on Autopilot
This is a simple, but when thought about – insanely powerful reason I decided to get rid of social media.
Every morning, without thought, I would wake up and instantly check instagram, tiktok, facebook, and messenger.
That is control. These apps controlled my morning. And then after the endless scrolling looking for the next dopamine rush – I was left empty, robbed of passion, groggy, and uninspired.
This would lead my entire day, everyday.
That in itself is enough.
8. Doom Scrolling to “Catch Up” but Thats Impossible
You scroll, and scroll, and scroll the endless sea of curated posts. Wondering whats next, whats better, whats going. to make this seem worth it.
But the problem is, it never ends. There is something new with each thumb swipe. You’ll never reach the end. You” never “catch up”.
Thats how they keep you there. I no longer wanted to feel that lack of control.
9. The Need for Real Relationships | Quality Over Quantity
I began feeling the need to nurture real relationships, with real people.
I got many messages on instagram and facebook every day. But none of it (or very little) felt quality.
It was mostly memes, emojis, or quick comments/questions that were forgotten about within seconds.
Before I quit social media, I made a series of 3 reels explaining what was happening, why, and how to find and contact me.
Then, in my stories I asked others for their emails, phone numbers, or even addresses to be pen pals.
I got many responses, and talk to many of them daily, weekly, and am even starting to write to one. Yes, actual letters with stamps.
10. Not Wanting to Add to The Noise | Harming Others?
After realizing all of this, and much more that I will explain further in another post – I realized not only was all of this happening to me, but I was doing to to others.
I created this personal online. of who I was, and what my life was like. I received praise for my bravery, my creativeness, and for how happy my life seemed.
People spent time scrolling my contact, wishing their life was how mine was, or idolizing aspects of it.
But my life wasn’t really anything like what I was posting, because just like most – It was a highlight reel. A collection of all my best moments,
Or even lies.
Many of the moments that seemed so great, were times I was struggling the most.
I was lying to people, I was contributing to the exact reasons I left social media. By quitting social media, I was also helping others.
So, is it Worth it to Quit Social Media?
Amung other things, quitting social media has greatly reduced my mom guilt, my anxiety, heightened my self-esteem, brought back my personal creativity, and made my relationships much healthier and more meaningful.
Deleting social media apps, and practicing social media minimalism has put me on track to being the mom, and woman i’ve been longing to be for years.
So yes, quitting social media is absolutely worth it.
What Happens when you Quit Social Media?
This may be slightly different depending on how and why you used social media. But for me, these five things happened instantly and I bet they will happen for you too..
Five things That Happened Instantly When Quitting Social Media
- You’ll have a whole lot more time on your hands. Though, you may not know how to use it just yet, you’ll begin to find your way.
- You will feel more content and appreciation in your life, you’ll notice more of the “little” things.
- You’re old endless to-do lists will begin getting checked off, and finished all together.
- You’ll have the opportunity and time to take better care of your body. Like starting that workout program you always wanted to, or having the time to make healthy meals instead of fast meals.
- You’ll have the time to ignite old hobbies, or start new ones.
These five things that happened to me instantly after quitting social media made a huge impact in my day. today life, my happiness, and my family life. But, these aren’t the only things that happened, and I continue to realize more. and more as the days go on.
Will I be Happier if I Quit Social Media?
In my experience, quitting social media has had a direct, positive impact on my happiness and overall wellness. And. I know i’m not the only one, if you don’t believe me check this little snippet from SCL Health.
“Our happiness is one of the most important aspects of our lives. Still, we check on the very thing that might be chipping away at our happiness dozens – or hundreds! – of times a day.. Studies have shown that social media can have a negative effect on your life satisfaction and subjective well-being. Evidence also suggests that social media is linked to depressive symptoms.” Full article here.
Am I Weird for not Having Social Media?
Though it’s not the “norm” (whatever that is anyways),I don’t believe i’m weird for not having social media.
I have also spoke to many people about this subject, and what I’ve chosen to do. Not a single person has thought it was weird, or a bad idea.
Most people want to limit or even delete their own accounts. They find it inspiring, and brave.
I remember first telling people that I planned on quitting social media (but hadn’t done it yet), they actually didn’t believe I could do it, or that anyone could. That fired even a little more drive to get it done
I am so Happy I Deleted Social Media
I chose to delete social media, just as I was gaining around 30-50 followers a day. I just woke up and something shifted in my mind.
I wanted to be a better woman, be better to myself, be a better wife, and be a better mom. The only thing I was lacking was the time, and the drive to make the changes I so desperately wanted to make.
So, I decided. to take control of my own present life, and my own future happiness.
I am so glad that I decided to cut the cord. Literally.
