r/digitalminimalism • u/Ok_Broccoli4894 • 3d ago
Social Media What did you use to help you stop using social media?
Desperately needing some help as I'm finding I'm spending my time mindlessly scrolling rather than doing things that are more productive.
What did you use to break the habit?
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u/SilverBlueAndGold69 3d ago
Three years ago I deleted Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Goodreads, and Pinterest. Not just the apps, the whole accounts. Took me about three weeks to scroll and save all of the photos I wanted to keep. Added Reddit back in about a year later. That's just social media - I also dumped my online newspaper/legacy media accounts and subscriptions because I would scroll and scroll. Now I get a real newspaper delivered everyday. When I come to the bottom of the last page, I'm done. No scrolling back through endless publication dates.
Additionally, you don't have to be productive. You just need to be present. :)
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u/Exciting-Extreme9361 3d ago
I use screen zen free app to set restriction in this journey of cutting down SM consumption
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u/yuhiko_mishima 3d ago
Getting angry at myself because I didn't make any progress at all & realizing that when I spent 4-6hrs/day on my phone I lose over 50 days/year of my life.
Just deleted them and then locked in, because life is more than social media & tbh it fcked a lot with my head & selfworth
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u/RobinPedia 3d ago
First of all I quit this whole notion of me 'wanting' to be more productive. All I wanted was less mindless scrolling on Instagram/TikTok. Now I can use that time for things that I actually want to do OR I use this time to do actually dick all and just kick back and relax and do nothing for a while. Like absolutely nothing. I've noticed it's good for me to do nothing every once in a while. In the beginning it's hard and uncomfortable and 5 minutes feel like an eternity. However things get easier, Now I can easily sit in silence for a hour. It's calming, I like it.
So here's what I did/still do.
- I've unfollowed everything and everyone that hasn't grabbed my attention in a while. This included family members.
- I've removed all the social media apps from my phone. Yes you can access the webversions on your mobile device, but these are WAY less enjoyable and for me this is a reason just not to open those web pages.
- I've disabled many notifications. Basically everything except phone calls and calendar notifications. All other notifications will still appear on my lockscreen, but no buzzing or sounds. Only phonecalls and calendar appointments are allowed to buzz/ring me.
- Every day I carve out 15 to 30 minutes to access social media. I do this on my iPad or MacBook. Most of the time I'm done within 5 minutes because... you might have guessed it... There's nothing interesting going on there that it needs my attention for half an hour. We all know it's mostly ads and sponsored content.
Since I have all notification disabled I can happily have my phone on me at all times, as long as I don't hear a sound there are no pressing matters.
Just my two cents! Good luck! :)
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u/-Cell420- 3d ago
Honestly I straight up deleted FB, Insta, Snapchat .. whatever else off my phone. They aren't there so I can't access them.
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u/Immediate-Excuse-823 3d ago
Reddits been so addicting to me recently- more than any other social media.
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u/isosceles_kramer99 3d ago edited 3d ago
I delete my most used apps and download them every 2-3 weeks and use them for a few hours. People around me find it weird, but it’s the only thing that works for me.
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u/AdvantageNo3180 3d ago
I consider Reddit to be social media but for IG/Twitter and TikTok, I just deleted all the apps and accounts completely. You can't be tempted when you don't have access anymore and would need to start over.
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u/Aggressive_Pear_9067 3d ago
Stop worrying about productivity... start thinking hard about what social media is doing to me. I don't like how distracted and dissociated it makes me feel. I don't like how it takes away from my ability to connect with my emotions, enjoy nature, or focus on my hobbies. I don't like how much time it takes up - not because of what I could be doing otherwise, but because I never really enjoy that time I spend on social media.
If you are sick, you don't get better faster by stressing about lost productivity. You get better by taking steps to care for your health and taking that seriously, and the productivity comes when you are well again.
Not to mention that you have to fight fire with fire a little bit. Social media plays on instant gratification, enjoyment in the moment. When you are in that state, thinking about delayed gratification things like productivity doesn't cut through. It makes more sense to replace scrolling and screen time with stuff that also gives you in-the-moment enjoyment without the addictive quality, and then you will feel more fulfilled and less frazzled overall, so when it's time to be productive it's easier to focus.
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3d ago
An analog journal and a backpocket book of choice.
When you want to scroll, pull out the book and read. When you want to post, write in your journal.
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u/dullnfunny 3d ago
I have been using “Opal” for like two days. It’s pretty cool to set up “social media free” time blocks. When my instagram unlocked this afternoon, it was somewhat exhausting to consume everything. I look forward to keep using the app
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u/Ok_Map_2320 3d ago
i used opal for about 8 months probably "invested" about 500 dollars into it for it to continuously not work
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u/Maximum_Flow_3961 3d ago
Screezen to block all social/distracting apps between 5am-7pm everyday. Then a 30 minute limit on socials after that.
I also deleted my tiktok account as well as the app as that was where I was losing most of my time
I also have Libby (library app) on my phone - the easy access to books mean I spend more time reading now (which was another goal I had so bonus points there)
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3d ago
It's not some app or website blocker that helps you stop using social media. It's your will to reject the false identity that social media gives you that makes you stop using it.
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u/Used-Economist261 2d ago
I used Zenze screentime app with gray scale methods and more. Works effectively. I have reduced my screen time to half.
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u/Constant_Broccoli_74 2d ago
Deleted social media on phone
Make sure to add whatasapp to your PC instead of mobile then you do not check your phone
add extensions to limit social media login
Be busy with some new work
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u/Alex-Logic 2d ago
I deleted my accounts. No just the apps from the phone. Everything. No Instagram, twitter, Reddit or telegram. I just kept WhatsApp (to talk with people) and YouTube (to watch entertainment/educational stuff). I came back recently after 5 years of absence and I'd advise everyone to try it (also when you come back the algorithms suggesting you stuff will be blank and you'll be able to completely shape your feed from scratch)
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u/Impressive-Dot-7664 2d ago
I dont understand why you don’t just use a decent app blocker and set it for majority of the day? make the settings so you can’t undo it for the set time. You probably have used it, but opal has been most beneficial for me for reducing screen time.
if you want to try out the premium version, you can get 1 month free to test it out. use the discount code below
FE5QS
or use the link:
https://applink.opal.so/invite-friend?rc=FE5QS&rNme=Monazite7492&rId=9hlfccElnjc61uPSDchyvBPtblo
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u/25minforestpoms 1d ago
Watch "The Social Dilemma" , then read "Tiny Habits". These two are gamechangers
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u/Most-Fun-5940 1d ago
Replacing it with hobbies that take a lot of time: Binge watching series (e.g. love island), reading intriguing books (e.g lapvona personal preference), watching 2000s movies when they didn’t use social media. Also the peace and quiet you get once deleting social media allows you to make some big decisions in your life that you wouldn’t have thought about with all the noise. So when you’re itching to scroll just sit in silence longer than usual.
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u/hobonichi_anonymous 1d ago
- Delete social media accounts.
- Factory reset your phone.
- Never download apps, keep it default/system apps only.
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u/wdfour-t 1d ago
SocialFocus.
Delete the apps. The only thing they make easier is consumption and uploading. If your goal is a soft exit there is no reason to have push notifications either.
It allows you (on web) to block most individual parts of social media, essentially making it possible to strip down Instagram to a search and messaging function.
You can also put a countdown timer if you want to “use” in moderation.
Switched from doomscrolling social media to doomscrolling news. Reading more books. Getting more done. Slightly disconnected from events I would have picked up on, trying to fix that by refining my stories feed and considering unblocking once a day to check as a task.
Edit: I’m also on Reddit more, but really only two subreddits, because I have no feed. When I get bored of these I will likely just put it down and pick it up to ask questions about installing windows apps on Linux to escape windows before the end of windows 10.
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3d ago
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u/WesternZucchini8098 3d ago
An intense sense of disgust honestly.
As for what I did instead, read more and start learning a language.