30 Day Social Media Detox Plan (Week by Week!)
Addicted to social media? You’re not alone, in 2019, the average person spent a bit more of 2 hours and 20 minutes on social media per day. That’s a lot of time wasted if you spend it mindlessly scrolling.
In this article, I’ll show you how to detox from social media and reclaim your freedom with a 30-day social media detox plan and tips that I personally use to mindfully approach it.
Table of Contents
Benefits of a social media detox
Here are a few benefits of deleting social media for a while:
Improved connection with others: It can give us the feeling to keep up with our friends without actually talking to them. Taking a break from social media will show you that you actually need to plan zoom dates and one on one time.
More free time: Reclaim those 2 hours and 20 minutes! You have plenty of time to do that side hustle, hobby, or project.
Better mood: Anxiety and social media are linked as it can trigger feelings of comparison, which is normal as everyone is only showing their best self.
Better sleep: Looking at your phone at night can disrupt your natural rhythms
More focus and productivity: The average American picks up their phone 96 times a day. Those notifications interrupt you and prevent you from being in a state of flow!
More creativity: Only consuming content makes you passive and can prevent you from creating.
When I feel one of these things is getting out of hand for me, for example, if I’m having trouble sleeping or creating content, I know it is time for a social media detox! If you know you need one too but are still wondering how to get off social media, keep reading to know my exact process.
Week one: Become aware of your consumption
Your challenge this week: delete all social apps
Remove all social media apps from your phone. You can use social on your computer if you want, trying to be mindful about your consumption or you can choose to spend 30 days without social media if you’re the quitting cold turkey type.
Discovery: Set a baseline
Write down your average daily social media consumption on your phone, you can also download a chrome browser extension to know how much time you spend on different websites.
Mindful practice: Set your intentions
Journal around these questions:
Why do I want to take a social media break?
What makes me scared about doing a digital detox?
Week 2: Don’t Give Up
Your challenge this week: 0 social media
By now you are used to not using your phone to check your social, try doing that on your computer as well. You can use this extension to help you with your willpower. This week will probably be the hardest as the novelty wears off and you’re adding more restrictions.
Discovery: get some motivation
This week, consume mindful content about how social media is shaping our world or about how your brain works.
Here are a few ideas:
Scary and inspiring social media documentaries: the Social Dilemma and the Great Hack on Netflix
Habit building: Atomic Habits (one of my favorite books!)
Focus: Deep work
Mindful practice: become aware of the real need behind your social media consumption
Become aware of when you want to open social media and ask yourself “Why do I open my social media apps?”. Are you bored? Tired? Hungry? What other ways of meeting this need can you think of? Take some time to journal. You can also start noticing that getting rid of social media can shed a light on other areas of your life you need to address.
Week 3: Enjoy the Freedom
Your challenge this week: have fun in real life
It is time to start the hobby you’ve always wanted to do but never had the time to! This week try to plan at least one activity that brings you joy a day.
Discovery: beat the boredom
Make a list of all the activities that you actually enjoy but don’t do often enough or new activities that you want to try.
Mindful practice: increase the positive and enjoy the benefits of having reclaimed your time
Ask yourself:
How can I use my time better than mindlessly scrolling?
What activities always make me happy?
Week 4: Integrate What You Learned
Your challenge this week: get ready to go back to using social, mindfully this time
Congratulations on getting to the last week of your 30-day social media fast, you are now ready to build long-lasting mindful social media habits.
Discovery: learn a stress-management technique
You might feel overstimulated when coming back to social media. It is time for you to learn a relaxation technique.
Mindful practice: set the groundwork for a healthy relationship with social media
Ask yourself:
What do I like about social media? What value does it bring to my life?
How can social media serve my goals?
What boundaries do I need to implement in my daily life?
Don’t Ditch Social Forever! How to Use Social Media Mindfully and Avoid Relapse
While there are many benefits to quitting social media, it is a wonderful part of life if you know how to use it well. Having healthy social media habits can make a bit of difference and totally giving up social media is not always the solution. Here are some simple tips for mindful social media use:
All notifications off: keep only a few notifications you really need
Use the do not disturb mode: you can even have it automatically start at a certain time
Put your phone away: only use it at specific times, and don’t leave it next to you when you’re working
Reorganize your apps: only keep productive apps on your home screen, mine are Audible, Sweat and Notion
Don’t use social for long conversations: instead, plan phone calls with people
Unfollow and mute: if some content is not uplifting you, don’t consume it
Crowd-out your social use: find other stuff to do that you enjoy, it can be spending time with loved ones and pets, doing some kind of movement or reading a book for example!
Use content planner apps: do not post in real-time, it takes away from the moment. Click here and download the Later app, it’s the best!
Taking a break from social media is always an option: even if it is for an afternoon!
I do most of my work on the internet and use social media a lot. I really enjoy creating content and connecting with readers, students, or other creators there. By setting the right boundaries, I’m able to keep my creativity and my freedom.
I hope you enjoyed this article and know how to take a break from social media when you need one but also how to practice social media wellness!