Used infogram.com for visualization and graphs, Google Sheets for tracking data, and Samsung Digital Wellbeing for tracking and limiting apps usage. This was inspired by u/Lahaoe post, my wellbeing, and my terrible sleep schedule. The main goal was to end my addiction and time-wasting as well as improving sleep and productivity.
My primary focus was on the platforms that I use the most. In order of usage (Reddit, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
As u/Lahaoe I ranked my mood from 1-5 (Horrible to Awesome) in different, self-explanatory categories. I used Digital Wellbeing to limit my app usage and block sites in my browser.
Side note. When going full no social media, I decided to allow myself to use sites like Reddit only for major sports events (F1 Grand Prixs, important soccer matches) and big space launches (Starship SN8) but only for a limited amount of time. Also, I decided to use YouTube in educational and work/uni related topics.
But back to the start. I took a gradual approach and decided to limit myself by time. The first week, I used social media unlimited (usual) amount of time to get some baseline data.
Next week was limited to 2 hours a day (Youtube - 40min, Reddit - 30min, Twitter - 30min, Instagram - 10min, Facebook - 10min). Most of the time I didn't notice the change. Knowing that I have limited time I just was more specific in my searches (I stopped browsing /r/all and focused on certain subreddits, also became picky about YouTube videos).
From November 24 to 30 I used apps an hour each day (Youtube - 30min, Reddit - 10min, Twitter - 10min, Instagram - 5min, Facebook - 5min). This was when I started noticing how many times I open up apps without even thinking about it. Also, I started to not unlock my phone in the morning to save some screen time for the evening. You need to fill the void and the time so I found new hobbies. Also, FOMO kicked in a little. Another "positive" thing was my covid test so I was stuck at home and couldn't use the outside for escaping. I would say it was probably the hardest time.
Then it was 2 weeks without Social media and I'm still going strong since then (yeah, I know I'm writing this post). Here's my Insta activity. An hour a day really prepared me for this. I was more focused on hobbies and my work/uni. Also, my sleep schedule is really good now. It still is far from perfect but I noticed that I fall asleep easier and since I don't open my phone in the morning waking up became much more pleasant.
Now, of course, there might be a placebo or a desire to make a good-looking green side on the right but I tried to stay as honest as I can through the whole thing.
Some advice:
Get new hobbies (A LOT). If you think that you have enough already, you're wrong. I started playing Go/Baduk and Checkers, a lot of DIY projects, reading, piano to name a few. Don't drop it immediately, better gradually over time (at least for me). Don't assume it will solve all your problems. Probably obvious but worth mentioning. I feel much better but as you can see I still had bad days.
![image showing [OC] Quitting Social Media as a 22-year-old](b88393c3-8f23-5dc4-9cfe-76152b9fb6a4.jpg)
PyQt on December 21st, 2020 at 14:23 UTC »
Used infogram.com for visualization and graphs, Google Sheets for tracking data, and Samsung Digital Wellbeing for tracking and limiting apps usage. This was inspired by u/Lahaoe post, my wellbeing, and my terrible sleep schedule. The main goal was to end my addiction and time-wasting as well as improving sleep and productivity.
My primary focus was on the platforms that I use the most. In order of usage (Reddit, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
As u/Lahaoe I ranked my mood from 1-5 (Horrible to Awesome) in different, self-explanatory categories. I used Digital Wellbeing to limit my app usage and block sites in my browser.
Side note. When going full no social media, I decided to allow myself to use sites like Reddit only for major sports events (F1 Grand Prixs, important soccer matches) and big space launches (Starship SN8) but only for a limited amount of time. Also, I decided to use YouTube in educational and work/uni related topics.
But back to the start. I took a gradual approach and decided to limit myself by time. The first week, I used social media unlimited (usual) amount of time to get some baseline data.
Next week was limited to 2 hours a day (Youtube - 40min, Reddit - 30min, Twitter - 30min, Instagram - 10min, Facebook - 10min). Most of the time I didn't notice the change. Knowing that I have limited time I just was more specific in my searches (I stopped browsing /r/all and focused on certain subreddits, also became picky about YouTube videos).
From November 24 to 30 I used apps an hour each day (Youtube - 30min, Reddit - 10min, Twitter - 10min, Instagram - 5min, Facebook - 5min). This was when I started noticing how many times I open up apps without even thinking about it. Also, I started to not unlock my phone in the morning to save some screen time for the evening. You need to fill the void and the time so I found new hobbies. Also, FOMO kicked in a little. Another "positive" thing was my covid test so I was stuck at home and couldn't use the outside for escaping. I would say it was probably the hardest time.
Then it was 2 weeks without Social media and I'm still going strong since then (yeah, I know I'm writing this post). Here's my Insta activity. An hour a day really prepared me for this. I was more focused on hobbies and my work/uni. Also, my sleep schedule is really good now. It still is far from perfect but I noticed that I fall asleep easier and since I don't open my phone in the morning waking up became much more pleasant.
Now, of course, there might be a placebo or a desire to make a good-looking green side on the right but I tried to stay as honest as I can through the whole thing.
Some advice:
Get new hobbies (A LOT). If you think that you have enough already, you're wrong. I started playing Go/Baduk and Checkers, a lot of DIY projects, reading, piano to name a few. Don't drop it immediately, better gradually over time (at least for me). Don't assume it will solve all your problems. Probably obvious but worth mentioning. I feel much better but as you can see I still had bad days.Kanjizzy on December 21st, 2020 at 14:58 UTC »
Do you think self-fulfilling prohecy played a role? You thinking you feel better simply because you assume "less social media = more happy"?
2020BillyJoel on December 21st, 2020 at 15:04 UTC »
Hmmm your mood seems to correlate with number of Christmas lights outside.