5 revelations after my 10 day cell phone social media digital detox

1. I am addicted to social media. Period.

2. I felt a strong compulsion and deep urge to check my phone throughout the day. I had to channel that energy so I took more walks and picked up a light hearted book, which helped.

3. I felt a little lonely. I sought out people, events and experiences to be with people in real life. I visited family members, reached out to friends and was present in my conversations. 

4. I had more time throughout my day. I wasn’t squeezing in social media throughout my day and therefore had more time for work, play and life overall. I did not feel rushed. I was more calm and was able to better focus on one thing at a time. I fell asleep very easily each night.

5. I knew I would persevere. I designed the detox to only be 10 days then I would re-active my account. I wasn’t giving it up for the rest of my life and knowing the reward for my challenge was just days away helped me get through the rollercoaster.

I felt really good after those 10 days, in my body, mind and heart.

But why did I reactivate my Instagram and Tik Tok?

If this cell phone social media digital detox was so good for my mental and physical health, relationships, and overall quality of life, why am I re-installing the apps and diving back into the belly of the beast? 

Because as a society, our attention is on these platforms. Staying connected to friends and community through social media is something I value, and simultaneously I also know that true meaningful connection occurs 1 on 1, ideally in person, but also over the phone and through intentional text messages.  

Social media use is a dance with the devil, but this detox allowed me to take some time off to assess how I want to dance and play the game.

My new approach to social media

I’m not perfect and it’s going to be hard to not fall back into the social media behaviors I had before the detox. Here are four things I’m going to do to help structure my environment so that I can limit my social media usage throughout the day.

1. When I plan my calendar every week (did I mention I’m a student of the One Thing) I will designate time on my calendar to create social media content and different times to review social media for fun. 

2. “Goals Before Phones” and “You are what you repeat” are my newest mantras that I’ve surrounded myself with, they are on my laptop desktop and my cell phone wall paper. When I’ve got that deep urge to log in to socials, I will at least have to read those words first and then make my decision.

3. I’m going to do another digital detox during my children’s spring break from March 31-April 9. Knowing that this is coming helps me remember that I am in charge of my social media behaviors. I would love to do this with one other person at minimum so we can check in on each other and hold each other accountable.

4. Most importantly, I’m not going to get down on myself for when I do slip up and spend too much time on social media. These apps are designed to keep our attention as long as possible and I’m fully aware of that. As individuals trying to rise up against them, it’s like David versus Goliath. I will not hold any shame or embarrassment, I will pick myself up and start again.

I enter the month of March with a new sense of what is possible within me due to the 10 day cell phone digital detox that I persevered through in February.

If you’re ready to get to know your tendencies, to challenge yourself and to become anew on the other side, will you join me for the next digital detox? We start on March 31.