A Social Media Detox has more Benefits than you'd think

A Social Media Detox has more Benefits than you'd think

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Pretty much all of us know this: you just want to quickly check the latest content on Facebook, Instagram, and the like. But while scrolling through the virtual world, we completely lose track of time, and what was once a "quick" suddenly turns into an hour.

But it's not exactly easy for us either, as we're flooded with news on a continuous loop, and so we stay in front of the screen for much longer than is actually good for us, so as not to miss anything. Social Media Detox is designed to help you develop a more conscious approach to social media by giving up social networks, either partially or even completely, for a certain period of time. You'll learn how this can work below.

How to approach your Social Media break

Every beginning is difficult, but it's worth taking a serious look at your own user behavior and social media consumption. Often, we're not even aware of how much time we actually spend in front of the screen every day, especially on social networks. A quick look at your smartphone can provide an initial clue, as many devices now offer a detailed display of screen time, i.e., the time you spend in front of your smartphone throughout the day. Depending on the phone, this also lists which apps consume the most time. If your smartphone doesn't offer this feature, you could alternatively create a spreadsheet, such as in Excel, and record your usage behavior. Based on these results, you now address the crucial question: How do you want to structure your social media break? Several options are certainly conceivable:

Radical Abstinence

The probably most drastic measure is to completely abstain from all social media platforms from now on. Admittedly, this isn't easy, partly because we often access these networks for work or academic reasons, but also because it's always difficult to break habits so suddenly. Therefore, you'll probably find yourself at the beginning automatically reaching for the app you've forbidden yourself. To avoid being tempted in the first place, you can take precautions and either delete the apps in question from your smartphone or move them all together to a separate folder that will remain untouched for the duration of your social media detox. It might also help to log out of all apps. If you do open them out of habit, you'll stumble over the login prompt and should then remember your intention.

Conditional Abstention

Do you want to limit your consumption but don't want to take the "sledgehammer" approach? Then you should first filter out which apps you want to do without for the time being. Here, you could choose the platforms you spend the most time on during the day or the ones you open most frequently. Perhaps one platform is particularly important to you because you might regularly receive important content for your studies there; in that case, it makes sense to keep that app but say goodbye to all others (at least for the time being). Whether messaging services are part of this is something everyone should decide for themselves. For example, if you use WhatsApp regularly because your work schedule is uploaded there and spontaneous changes are communicated there, or if you have special university groups where you discuss lecture content, then it's probably counterproductive to ban this app as well. Here, too, you can either uninstall anything you want to take a break from or move it to a separate folder.

Reduce your Social Media screen time

If you don't want to give up certain apps or networks completely, then instead of taking a break, we recommend setting a specific daily quota for social media time. You should then, of course, stick to this as best as possible. The best way to determine how much time you want to allow yourself is to base it on your previous user behavior, but we recommend spending a maximum of 30 minutes a day on social networks. You can work towards this daily goal from week to week, so you don't have to abruptly change your habits. The best way to achieve this is to do other things in the moments when you would normally reach for your smartphone. Instead of reaching for your phone on the bus or train to university, for example, you could read that book that's been languishing on your bookshelf since Christmas, or simply switch off and observe your surroundings, which have so far passed you by unnoticed. You might even discover completely new things that interest you and that allow you to switch off, for example when you take a break from studying.

How long of a Social Media break makes sense?

There's no generalization; after all, everyone uses social media differently and has a different level of stamina than perhaps their best friend. Online, you usually read about one to two weeks of break, but there are also those who abstain from all social media channels for a whole month or even longer. The rule here is, do what feels right to you. Perhaps you can start with one week and then possibly extend your breaks later. The real goal, however, should always be to learn to use social media more consciously overall. Someone who wants to lose weight also needs to change their habits in the long term and stick with it. It's the same here: what's the point of a week of abstinence if you then fall back into old habits and sit in front of your phone for hours on end?

What are the benefits of a digital break for me?

You'll quickly notice that you have more time for more important things and are more focused, whether studying or spending time with your friends. If your gaze isn't constantly wandering to your smartphone, you'll be more aware of your surroundings and much more receptive than if everything was running parallel and in the background. It's also a good idea to consistently turn off push notifications from apps that aren't important anyway. Even if you don't really want to, every incoming message is a distraction and tempts you to quickly glance at your smartphone. This conscious decision to do without may be difficult at first, but you'll usually get used to it and become more relaxed over time. This is especially true because you'll no longer be under the pressure of "missing out." Sometimes we're probably not even aware of how much meaningless and irrelevant content we deal with every day, which still needs to be processed somehow and for which there's actually no room. We're often presented with a shiny, ideal world that distracts some people from being content with themselves and their lives. All of this, even if it's not direct or conscious, has a negative impact on our mood and overall.

We could be much more relaxed and focused on ourselves if we could only find enough distance from what's presented to us on the World Wide Web and stop constantly comparing ourselves to others. Perhaps you'll soon notice that your sleeping habits are changing because you're no longer subjected to constant, continuous input that stresses you out internally without you even noticing. For this reason alone, you should avoid using your smartphone immediately before going to bed and, if possible, banish it from the bedroom as well, as we now know that cell phones demonstrably disrupt sleep. If, despite your best intentions and all your resolutions, you find it difficult to control your smartphone use, you can set screen time limits that only allow use during a certain period of time. Another tool is offered by numerous apps, such as "Forest," which reward you for your phone break with virtual trees—and, with the right amount of perseverance, even with real trees planted.

So, cell phone and social media-free times aren't such a bad idea for slowing down our already stressful daily lives. The first step toward a more conscious use of diverse media begins with critically examining our own user behavior and, if necessary, adjusting it accordingly.

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