Forums » Smalltalk » Day With No Phone

Whenever I feel like it's all becoming too much - constantly holding my phone in my hand, always checking social media, mindlessly scrolling through my YouTube, Instagram and Facebook feeds - I delete every app that even remotely constitutes as social media (anything I could potentially scroll through for hours) or anything that could make me feel bad about myself (Instagram, with everyone constantly sharing their fun activities and dating apps because of the plethora of peope who ghost and look better than me) for a week.

I always find I'm much more focused on what's actually happening around me. I spend a lot more time doing things I actually enjoy, time I'd usually spend scrolling through feeds, and my brain is bombarded with a lot less unnecessary, unimportant information. It makes me calmer. I also feel less... unfulfilled and lonely, if I'm completely honest.

The only thing I check before going to bed is Facebook, incase somebody needed something or wanted to tell me anything important. I tell anybody I interact with regularly (friends, anybody I might be dating, family) that I'm deleting all my social media for a week and I'll still be reachable through texts.

Thank you. That is a really good suggestion. I know what you mean about feeling unfulfilled and lonely, despite the constant stimulation. Thanks.

You're very welcome! If you're planning on trying it (or if anybody who stumbles upon this thread is, for that matter), brace yourself because it really is like going off a drug cold turkey, at least it was for me the first time I did it. I constantly felt like I was missing stuff, didn't know about anything that had gone viral in the week I basically took off from the internet and things like that, but the beauty (and possibly curse) of the internet is that it's all still here when my pause is over.

The urge to redownload every app even after just a few hours was immense, but I knew pulling it through was in the best interest of my mental health and self-consciousness, so I suffered through it. It wasn't that bad anymore after about 2 days. Just the looks my classmates and other people my age gave me when they were asking me if I'd seen this or that and I just said ''No, I'm social media-free this week'' were honestly worth it.

It also made me realize how much time we actually spend glued to screens. It was so annoying when I went for coffee or lunch with a friend and they kept looking at their phone. It really put things into perspective.

Yes yes yes, so true. All so true.