everything I did this week because I deleted social media off my phone

i should have done this sooner..

It finally got to the point where I was absolutely disgusted with the amount of time I was wasting on my phone. I couldn’t even wait for my coffee to brew without scrolling through TikTok or YouTube Shorts. I’m embarrassed to tell you that my screen time was shockingly close to four hours per day. I tried to justify it by saying it was mostly podcasts, audiobooks, and FaceTimes with my family in America. But no. The proof was right there. Three hours wasted each day on social media. That’s almost a full day lost each week.

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In July I spent too many hours scrolling and comparing myself to other people who I’ve never met. Seeing other people doing book tours, going to concerts (not a reference to the Coldplay scandal…), sailing on yachts, swimming in fabulous pools, getting ice cream in Nantucket, and tending to their perfectly primmed gardens just became too much for me. I began to feel inadequate and anxious that I wasn’t doing enough. I was comparing myself to the highlight reels of others and it gave me a pit in my stomach.

The thing is, although I knew social media was making me feel worse, I couldn’t limit myself. I put blockers and time locks on the apps, but pushed through them every single time (which only added to the shame and guilt of all this wasted time). I was always on the hunt for my next dopamine hit. My attention span disappeared and brain fog followed me throughout the day wherever I went. When I lifted my head up from the screen it felt like I had woken up from a deep sleep and I saw stars (no, seriously, this was bad).

Finally, I knew I needed a break. I needed a social media detox.

I deleted all the apps off my phone — even Substack, because yes, this is social media. By no means is it the most addictive app in my personal opinion, but still it needed to go.

At first, there was definitely a detox period. I went to pick up my phone so many times before remembering the apps weren’t there. The muscle memory was insane. After a day or two, the boredom really set in. I recognised that my phone was taking up a huge chunk of my day, so I needed to find things to fill that vacant time.

Here’s what I did…

I took my dog on long walks through the forrest.

I started baking again! I made blueberry lemon drizzle cake and my special chocolate chip cookies.

I’m also finding a newfound joy in cooking, because I’m not drained from hours of scrolling.

I re-organised our home, tended to the garden, and packed away our wedding stuff (finally…. over three months later).

More importantly, I started to feel SO MUCH gratitude for my own life.

It’s only been a few days, but already I notice so much of a difference. My screen time is down over 30% and should drop more the longer I do this.

I’m about to start my new research contract and this social media break has definitely helped me feel more clear minded and focused. I’m about to be much busier and don’t want to be in the habit of wasting my precious free time staring at a screen.

If you’ve been thinking about taking a break or doing a social media detox, I can’t recommend it enough. I feel more settled, less anxious, and overall much happier since I clicked ‘delete’.

until next time,

Melissa xx

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