5 Lessons I Learned From Ditching Social Media for 7 Days

On the 10th of November 2022, I decided to do a 7-day No Social Media Challenge, and I am ready to talk about it.

Now… let me start with a story…

Once upon a time, there was a woman with many tasks on her to-do lists. From dusk till dawn, she would work, work and work on her to-do lists, and the tasks would get fewer and fewer… so she lived happily ever after.

Now, I don’t know who that woman is, because it ain’t me, for sure!!!

Lacking productivity and feeling overwhelmed – Check!

My “dusk till dawn” would be filled with piling tasks on my to-do lists, doing some of them, and then rewarding myself with a few minutes on social media. 

I would repeat that cycle a few times a day until “dawn” arrives, and I spend another few hours on social media just because it’s dark outside, and I deserve it (I know, zero logic). Then I tell myself I need to do something different instead of scrolling, but end up reaching for the phone regardless.

I cannot even remember when it started… that addiction to checking social media “just for a few minutes”, that FOMO, that search for dopamine in the place “we all” know is wrong.

Yeah, we all hate social media, and we can’t wait to talk about it on the same social media. And, as researchers say, we usually do it for 2.5 hours a day, every day. Well, my phone confirmed that on my weekly screen time report (see below). 

On top of all that, my productivity this year has declined; I feel guilty for doing close to nothing; I complain that I have no time to do it all, but I also use every spare moment to “check” social media.

Knowing what the problem is – check!

I won’t lie to you by saying that I had zero clue why I was so unproductive and distracted.

I knew social media was a problem for me because I would feel guilty using it, and I would stop doing important things, such as working on my business, so I could scroll through a few Tiktok videos.

But here’s the trick nobody wants to acknowledge.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving that problem, but if you do not take a second step, then what’s the point of the first one?

No Social Media Challenge Rules

So… it was in the early evening of the 10th of November this year when I decided that starting the next day, I would stay away from both Tiktok and Facebook for full seven days, regardless of what was happening. 

My rules for that 7-day challenge:

• I am not allowed to go on Tiktok and Facebook for the entire 7 days (I broke it once, and I will share why).
• I am not allowed to check even videos my father, my sister, or my husband thought “I have to” see, and I let them know about it (not that my father reduced his daily dose of 10 videos traveling my way, I haven’t seen them, regardless).
• I do not have Instagram or Twitter, so they weren’t included in the challenge.
• I did not delete the apps from my phone because it would’ve been too easy, which was a key point for me.
• I was allowed to spend time on Youtube in the evenings because that is the usual time I watch Youtube. I kept that the same, but I did not watch their shorts, just a video or two before I went to sleep.
• I kept using Messenger because that is not social media but a tool to connect with family and friends, and I even use it for work.
• Once the challenge is over, I am not obligated to follow the same routine. That was important, and I will talk about it more. 

I broke the challenge once: I had a truly lovely afternoon with my mom, we had tea and pie at a local cafe, and we decided to share it on Facebook. I took a photo. I published it, then left the social media and checked for likes and comments when the challenge was over. 

Important Statistics On Social Media and Mental Health

I bet it isn’t a surprise for you that mental health has worsened since the world wide web was introduced to humanity.

Well, you know, I know it, but what’s assuring is that scientists know it and prove it in numerous studies in the last few years.

So, here are a few disturbing-but-good-to-know facts on Social media and the web.

• 58.4% of the population uses social media. That’s 4.62 billion human beings worldwide.
• In the last 12 months, there were 227 million new users.
• On average, most people around you use seven social platforms monthly.
• Most of us spend 2.5 hours daily on social media only…
• … but we spend 40% of our waking time online (not just on social media). That’s 7 hours every day. (Source)
• We check or tap the screens of our phones 150 times a day on average. However, there are cases of extreme usage where some people could tap on their phones over 5000 times a day (not a clue how it happens when we only have 1440 minutes in 24 hours)
• When we interact in person, we talk about ourselves only 30-40% of the time. When we go online, that number spikes up to 80%. (source)
• It turns out that the social platform we spend the longest time on is Youtube, with an average of 23.7 hours every month. Facebook and Tiktok follow with 19.6 hours/month on each of them.
• Research in the US with almost 7000 participants adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media report an increase in mental health problems.
• Another study showed that 94% of people would feel very troubled when their phone isn’t around.
• The loop social media creates is that we need a dopamine dose, so we reach for the phone. Our dopamine levels increase, and we feel happy and satisfied. We put the phone down, but shortly after, our brain reports a decrease in dopamine in the body. So we reach for the phone…

No Social Media Challenge for Week – Results

I will skip the part where I tell you how I felt on each of these 7 days of no social media because I didn’t keep a journal to write my thoughts. I consider it a mistake because the results were mind-blowing for me!

However, here are the lessons I learned from ditching social media for 7 days.

No Social Media Challenge Lesson 1: Yes, to 7-day challenges!

I am a person who can hardly stick to a new habit, restrict myself from things I like, and follow through with a 30-day challenge. I’ve never done a 7-day challenge before (or I cannot remember if I have).

But this 7-day challenge opened my eyes to one little detail: short made it sweet, and I didn’t struggle to go through it. It was a personal experiment, and I had zero obligations to turn it into a habit once the 7 days were over.

My willpower isn’t strong enough for long-term changes, but one brilliant way to train it and strengthen it is to stick to more 7-day challenges. 

Lesson 2: It wasn’t the “need” to open the app that scared me.

One thing freaked me out, and I am not joking about it. 

In the first few days of the challenge, I would grab my phone, unlock it and click on one of the social media apps in a matter of a second or two. 

I would only realize I am on the app once I am on it! Those first two seconds of grab-unlock-click action weren’t something I consciously did. I didn’t choose to open those apps. I just did.

It scared me because it was unexpected. I thought “knowing” that I shouldn’t use social media would be enough to keep me away from it. I knew I would struggle, be bored and occasionally regret my decision, but that “blind” zombie-style action truly opened my eyes.

If I was supposed to choose, the biggest benefit from that challenge would be the realization of how little control I have over myself when it comes to addictions (which social media totally is) and how important it is to become aware of that fact.

Because it means I can gently change it. 

Lesson 3: The burst of energy and good mood!

As the week progressed, I noticed that I wasn’t feeling as “pushed” and “stressed” as usual. 

I often would spend time on social media, and someone would call me, or my husband would interrupt and ask/tell me something. That would usually irritate me.

That irritation and annoyance that I didn’t get to finish my video and get my dopamine fix disappeared (obviously, if I wasn’t watching any videos). 

However, with the disappearance of that, I got to be unhappy fewer times. My further research on the topic confirmed that everyday usage and engaging with social media leads to cognitive overload, and it drains our energy, reduces our ability to focus, and ultimately makes us the less-better versions of ourselves. (Source)

Lesson 4: I made healthier choices. 

Just like every other person on this planet, I had to make countless choices. Removing the “choice” of going on social media (which, I mentioned, turned out to be less of a choice and more zombie behavior), I had to replace those choices with new ones. 

And they were better.

I am talking about tiny chunks of time, just a few minutes I would usually spend on social media. Instead of doing that, I would pick a thing or two to tidy up in the house or play with my dog.

The bottom line is that I made multiple healthier choices and was once again surprised at the power social media has over me. 

No Social Media Challenge Lesson 5: It made me smarter

Now that the challenge is over, I can go back to scrolling, liking, and tapping on the screen as often as I want.

But I am not doing it. I feel scared and still shocked by how much I had allowed myself to live online instead of offline.

Would I stop using social media?

No!

As I said, my goal wasn’t to avoid it forever but to run an experiment. 

Would I change something about my normal usage of social media?

I hope so, but only time will show how much I will change. That would be a “to be continued…” type of thing.

Would I recommend you leave social media?

Of course, not! But I encourage you to run your own experiment and see what changes in your life in the shortest time possible. Don’t do it for 30 days if you already know you won’t stick to it. 

Do it and consciously ask yourself, “what’s changed” in those few days or weeks, you’re without social media. 

I know what’s changed! It’s me!