Giving up social media - does it get easier?

[Chiavennasca]

So my New Year’s resolution is to give up social media - I’ve deleted my fb, Instagram and Twitter. I’ve kept Snapchat (because that’s how me and my sister communicate with various picks daily.)

I realised the endless scrolling and comparisons of others lives were not good for me. Also, my mum died in June, and I found myself longing at her fb page for too long.

Today is day 5 without it and I keep reaching for my phone as muscle memory then remembering. Inadvertently im now spending more time on Mumsnet I may have to cull that too.

I got a kindle for Christmas and my plan is to get into a good book and when I feel myself reaching for the 5 min scroll on my phone I can pick up the kindle instead.

has anyone any success stories of giving up social media and feeling better for it?

Mumsnet is social media too!

Watching with interest, I want to do exactly this. Haven't read a book in so long.

Kudos to your for taking such decisive action. It takes courage and self acceptance.
Like all addictiona, yes, it gets better over time.
Take no heed about posters above saying mumsnet is social media. It's not.

But you're on here? Are you going to stay on here? You do realise Mumsnet is social media too?

Yes it gets easier. I deactivated social media last year. It took a week or two for me to find other things. I found it easier to not even look at my phone. So do something else with my hands. Colouring/sewing/reading.

Google is your friend.. what is Mumsnet if not a social media platform?.Where people who don't know each other interact with each other... it most definitely is Social media.

Yes Mumsnet is considered a social media platform, specifically a large online forum and community where parents (primarily) share advice, discuss diverse topics, and connect, functioning like a social network built around user-generated content and discussions.

I've been social media free for a decade now - it's great! I mumsnet very rarely and I've posted once in my life - I'm sure savvy users can check my comments history better than I can!

I've always had hobbies but I definitely picked up other ones. Although I barely used social media before I deleted it completely.

Truly recommend reconnecting with the important people only. Deeper connections. Quality over quantity!

Well done for deleting the apps. As you said, you’ve replaced one app for another…I think the key is to break the physical phone habit. Place phone in a different room etc. not saying it’s easy to do! I need to do the same!

I had an app for a while that blocked other apps. If I tried to open Facebook, it would make me take a deep breath then it would say ‘do you really want to open Facebook?’ And most of the time, I would say no. But then something kicked off on Facebook one day and I deleted the app and I can’t remember what app it was.

I like Press Reader (most libraries do similar) as you can read lots of newspapers and hobby magazines.

I've used Forest before when I was studying but kept getting distracted by my phone. You set a timer when you won't look at your phone and if you stick to it, it grows an animated plant and you can build a whole forest of them. It's obviously a different type of pointlessness but I enjoyed collecting the different plants! There are various other apps with less gamification if that's your thing. It might be helpful while you're breaking the habit of picking up your phone to look at it frequently.

Otherwise, I agree with PP- maybe replace it with something else that will keep your hands busy

I imagine it will get easier over time as well- good luck!

It's never been an issue for me, tbh. I never really used Fb or Twitter/X and I don't tend to follow people I know on Instagram, only gardening and gallery, local theatre etc accounts to keep up with upcoming arts events.