I am sure you have heard of a detox before... Liver detox, juice detox, the list goes on. Detox essentially means "cleaning out". They generally leave you feeling lighter, more energized, and overall- better.
Ever detox the mind? Recently, I tried a social media detox and it was SO inspiring. I decided to do it because I noticed my anxiety was acting up as I was being triggered by things online. So I deleted Facebook, LinkedIn, an TikTok off my phone for a whole month. (The only thing I kept was Pinterest.... because I love pinning.)
My goal was to reduce my anxiety, but I ended up doing SO MUCH more than just that.
Additional Benefits from Social Media Detoxing:
Increased creativity
Increased motivation
More goal setting
More journal entries
Longer walks
Increased productivity
Less comparison in body & lifestyle
As you can see from above, I benefited in SO many ways- and my anxiety/stress levels were reduced. This shows to be in line with what research shows as well. Below is a snip taken from a research article performed on University Students in 2020-
"Descriptive analysis revealed that most students reported a positive change in mood, reduced anxiety and improved sleep during and in the immediate aftermath of the detoxification period." (1)
I would love to podcast about this topic because it really surprised me and I would like to go more in depth on all of these benefits.
For me, it was hard the first few days. I would habitually go onto my phone when I was bored or had some free time and click through my apps. By actually removing the apps from my phone (as opposed to logging out or hiding them), I actually couldn't get onto them. It opened my eyes to how many times a day I turned to social media to distract from reality.
I encourage you to try it! Maybe a week, or a month. Eventually it became more of a habit for me to look out the window, journal, or go for a walk than to open social media. Let me know all the unexpected benefits you experienced!
Sources:
(1). El-Khoury J, Haidar R, Kanj RR, Bou Ali L, Majari G. Characteristics of social media 'detoxification' in university students. Libyan J Med. 2021 Dec;16(1):1846861. doi: 10.1080/19932820.2020.1846861. PMID: 33250011; PMCID: PMC7717533.
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