no but i feel like i need to

its totally cliche but its cliche for a reason. because it works. i have completely dropped my screentime to about 4 hours a day including when i actually need to be on my phone for school and it kinda has changed my world. I used to be able to scroll for hours or watch youtube video upon youtube video but now that shit gets so boring so fast. I intentionally left my phone at home when i went out for a walk the other day and it didnt stress me out. If theres one thing i could say and engrain into people is to start decentering your phone and social media. real life needs more community and thats only gonna happen once we start talking to the people around us.

I havent formally used Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. in a long time but I will go on them every once in a while for 15 minutes and its so insane how even though I feel better without them it will suck me right back in. 

The only 'social media' I still really have is YouTube and honestly, I'm thinking I need to take a break from that too... I basically just replaced it with my other scrolling rahhh! It's so annoying, but like I use YouTube for so much that I can't bring myself to delete it or stop using it all together. 

2 years ago i noticed myself scrolling through Facebook. I was never a person who really did that, sure got into Pinterest insta, you name it, but fb was just .... People i was never even effing friends with why am I seeing your child? Your grandma? Your lunch??? I started getting upset about stuff I would have no clue about if I wasn't on. 2 hours went by one day off and I said screw this, deleted the app completely. Now I have to go to a web browser or axtual computer to check it which almost always isn't even worth it so I rarely check!!! Literally I just share shizz from insta to keep myself "relevant" cuz I'm an artist etc. Have family on there i actually do care about updating. But at the same point none of them gave asked how I'm doing since doing this??? Tbh I should do this with insta too because now I notice myself scrolling there but as an artist feel I need to be present. Ugh it's a whole struggle. I kinda wish I could try living in the past where we have to write letters, take actual photos of things to show people IRL next time we see them, go on real dates. Etc. Like this is nice cuz we can all chat world wide but something has to give.

if i could, i would be off social media forever, but unfortunately it's the only way to keep in contact with my online friends. i was away from instagram for a year or two, which was so nice!! it was so good for my mental health, like my brain had all this extra space without it

I stopped using main stream Social Media as much after 2020/ 2021 and retreated in anonymity to work on my Artwork. My mental health got better, cuz I didn't have to deal with karen and ken trolls and haters attacking me all the time online,

Okay so, i did, once i had a phase when i wanted to just take a break from the media, i made a list that is just in front of me of things to do instead of it. But…as much as it did led me to feel refreshed and led to new ways of thinking. It didn’t really last long…after some time i guess, i felt like…i was completely dissociated from myself, in a way. And when i finally went back to it and watched some videos i felt much more at peace. I was kinda overthinking a lot about my current life situations, so much that all this ‘self care’ journey on stopping being on social media kinda seemed more like a burden. I don’t know if it’s because i did something wrong, or maybe, i just lost motivation very quickly that led me to being on media here and then. 

Not long ago i was at my grandmas’s and i was 2 days without social media or anything lol, and i was like okay cool. But…i felt like shit soon after. Not because I wasn’t on it, but because i realized that the things that were outside of it were little shitty and hopeless. So I don’t know if i should really leave it now or not.

I had literally succeeded and gotten off everything for two weeks but ugghhhh I needed to see those youtube makeup tutorials sooo badly... tbh there really isn't a good replacement for that but it still sent me breaking ALL my rules

Nah, I totally get it! Digital liberation is mad freedom. 
I used to be chronically online and enjoy myself, now I find that I log off angry and upset 9 out of 10 times. It can be argued that it's triggered by what I consume, it's an algorithm after all. It just seems like there aren't any positive spots left. 

I'm glad it's had a positive impact on your metal well-being. I think the most important one to unplug will always be Facebook. 

If you get the SM itch again and want to find a positive community I suggest Blusky, there really isn't much negativity over there and if it does show up, it's really easy to avoid it. 

I frequently think about doing this, but I've grown up on social media for my entire life! The last time I wasn't on some form of social media was when I was like four or five, so the idea of not having contact online is so scary. If I were to do somthing like this though, it would defeintly be for TikTok, since that's the most dystructive one for me. Anyone else in a similar situation?

i would do this if i wasnt obsessed with spacehey now...

Even tho all my friends are on Twitter, I kicked the bucket and stopped using it. Life has been better. Twitter just goes so fast for me and I can barely keep up, especially with its terrible algorithm. As an artist it was very stressful to keep up, especially the fact I had to also draw things I wasn't comfortable with just to get a smidge of attention to keep my account afloat.

I don't use social media anymore, I just post my drawings on IG and Bluesky and go back to having fun. It's awesome.

I decided to make a SpaceHey profile because it's a form of slow social media while still having the interactions of people across the Internet. Oh I'd love to completely delete everything but Instagram is my main form of communication and where I post my art! Recently I've implemented logging out of my account when I don't want to se it, it gives the same effect I guess :p

social media can totally cause SO much stress in your life, sometimes a detox is for the best. plus it feels so much better when you come back online (if you ever do!) im a total hippocrite, but even slightly decresing your screen time could change allot!

me and my friend have the new years resolution of being less on our phones and honeslty i think it makes life so much more enjoyable, i still have all my social media so that i can see what my friends and family are up to but i rarely use it. and instead of using ceratain things i have bought replacements for them so that i dont feel the need to pick up my phone as much, instead of music apps i have a cd player- going to cd stores and thrifts to find different cds is much more interesting and sometimes you can meet new people, and i have a camera and a film camera instead of opening my phone to take pictures and such and i have started collecting dvds so that i can watch movies and tv shows without going through a bunch of overpayed apps that dont even have good movies in them. i really reccomend going of your phone, even if its just for a week, it was very freeing and i started to notice more things around me.

i remember when i decided to completely delete TikTok and it was the best thing i ever did for myself (well, one of the best haha) 

TikTok was genuinely giving me massive brain fog, headaches and left me so unmotivated and like... wired? Like my find felt like it was buzzing and even after I closed the app I would be left a zombie.

When I noticed all these negative effects, I deleted the app and my account and ive never looked back.

It was sad saying goodbye to all the artists I followed and their storylines/comics but I couldn't live like that anymore.

I also don't have instagram or twitter. I have snapchat just to keep in touch with my sister and cousin, but i realllyyy wanna delete it due to its very scummy privacy policies that piss the tf off. 

Hell, I even deleted YouTube because I felt that I spent too much time on it (this was due to the introduction of YouTube shorts. It was too much like TikTok and was sending me down scrolling rabbit holes so I deleted the app). Now I only use YouTube on my computer or in my phone browser, which means no shorts and no algorithm since I'm not logged in.

Once again, I was sad to say goodbye to all the coding content creators on YouTube shorts that had taught me a lotta cool things, but I needed to be fr and understand that shorts is like fast food for the brain, and I needed to start eating actual meals.

Now, all I have is tumblr and spaceHey. I need to manage my tumblr addiction a bit better, but I started forcing myself put a cap at 1hr 30 mins for my tumblr screen time- which i have been following!

So yea, delete social media. If you genuinely enjoy an app, you can start by limiting your time on it per day, or deleting the app off your phone and only accessing it in a browser or on your computer. You can also log out so you have to log in every time you want to use the app, making it more inconnvenient to use, and prevents you from mindlessly opening the app and scrolling before you even know what happened. 

I was mindless before ;3333

that's the magic of intentional living! Actually choosing what you do, which social spaces you use, and not just meeting the expectations the world has for us all nowadays. Hats off to you! I hope you keep finding clarity and positivity through small things like that :)

I know this is an old thread but I just wanna say, right now of all times, I'm so thankful this space exists and I'm happy you all are here <3

I've been trying to take a break, but the feeling of missing out prevents it. I've decided to get a minimal phone and am waiting on it to be delivered to try! Instagram is a big issue for me but I heard logging out and using it on a web browser helps so I might try that

yeah i got to agree with that. i mean its like life is so much better. i actually get to do stuff i like. it makes me more free and not such a zombie like. not the sleeping tho.  kinda jealous for people who didnt have internet back in the day or atleast they used it less. 

i gotta ask though, anyone got recommendations to avoid the reflex of waking up in the morning and just getting str8 to twitter or insta? bc even though i havent been using it as much (and my god life has improved) it's like, a muscle itch thing.... and it's starting to hurt my head

The only social media i'm on besides this is Instagram now, I deleted tiktok and tumblr a little while ago and i'm thinking of deleting insta soon to I just want my attention span back :(

i feel like social media absorbs all of myself, like i'm no longer me. It seems like i'm a white paper, it's horrible

I mean, it definetely goes to show how fucked up social media can be at times. I once took a break of like.. a month or so? Something like that. And I felt almost reborned. But then I remembered that all my friends use social media and kinda had to do that too to keep in touch with everyone I know.

I am on my way to closing down my Facebook account. I just need to transfer all of my old photos off of there and onto my computer and that's that. Instagram is pretty much my biggest platform but I mostly use that for business content. I'm not off completely, but I'm definitely scrolling a whole lot less these days, and that change has certainly made a difference in my mood.

tiktok is actually the hardest one to give up:( i was away from tiktok for a year and felt better somehow but now i am there again

Social media is a doubled sided coin; it's great for general long-distance communication and anyone around the world to promote or express themselves they way they want to, but damaging to the psyche the more time you invest in it lol. The advertising and political aspects suck. You compare yourself to everyone's squeaky-clean life, or the burdens of radical opinions come weighing heavy on your concious. Likes and attention become instant gratification, and people often chase that feeling. Then, eventually, the freaking algorithim pushes vids or posts catering to your interests or fixation, and you get sucked right back in to the cycle. I dropped most platforms within the last few years. Lol In October I outright deleted my Twitter account of 16 years. I can't stand the banter and the current direction it's going in... though, I don't that opinion is uncommon by any means.

Don't let it control you! Breaks are so important!! Delete the app giving you the most grief and focus on somethin' else. Don't make it into a huge deal; you are doing it for yourself not anyone else. Going full hermit isn't a good idea tbh but you don't need daily stimulation strictly through content feeds and in-your-face socializing.

For me, I've switched off of a lot of heavily algorithm-driven social media. Mainly, I use Discord and Tumblr, and that's about it. I use reddit a bit, but it's usually for like 30 minutes a day, almost exclusively in relatively small subreddits, and some days I just don't bother.

YouTube is the main one I still use because there aren't really any comparable alternatives. But I've made a rule for myself, especially with shorts: when I notice something annoys me, I stop, and reassess. Even if it's very minor, if I'm annoyed by it, I take a sec and decide if I want to keep doing what I'm doing.

This helps a lot with YouTube shorts; they have these UI elements that cover part of the video, and usually that's not a problem, but sometimes it has stuff like search suggestions that cover even MORE of the video, so whenever a search suggestion pops up, I immediately bail on shorts-scrolling. I barely get through more than 2 or 3 in a row at any given time, so I basically completely avoid getting stuck in it for hours.

It also helps that we never really got all that into the biggest, worst ones like Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter. Over a decade ago, we used to have Facebook to play the exclusive games on it, but we never really used it for anything else, and as we switched over mostly to playing games on Steam, our only reason for being on Facebook was gone so we just didn't bother. With Twitter, we only ever used it to follow news from accounts that were only on Twitter, and once Elon started destroying it and people were moving to BlueSky, we felt no need to stick around. As for TikTok, we just never even started with using that. We already saw enough interesting TikToks through other social media and especially YouTube, so we never had much of a reason to bother with getting it straight from the source.

For me, I switched off Instagram, Twitter (Never used TikTok before) and Threads. I only left FB and used it "for old time sake". I started to feel so much more active and productive with everything i did. As I went with my own rule that only using FB when sitting at computer as before. But then suddenly I remember SpaceHey, this really feel like a great pause from the other applications. 

Wonderful!! Done but it was always a short period (maybe weeks), I should try to do it for a long time

I deleted Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook about 8 months ago. Honestly, the only real improvement I noticed was better mood and more energy. Focus is still a struggle though — probably because now I can waste hours scrolling through YouTube. As for feeling lonely? Not really. All my important contacts and news are still on Telegram.

I 100% get it. I deleted my Twitter and Instagram last year. Never got into TikTok luckily. The only platform I still have is Facebook and I really wouldn't even have that anymore either if it weren't for work related things. You can get so wrapped up in the endless scrolling and really don't notice it until you take it away. I really agree with the sentiment that social media is a narcotic in a way.

I'm perfectly fine with little bubbles like Discord to be able to talk to my friends because there isn't a creepy algorithm pushing content on me. I've only just joined SpaceHey this week but it's nice to see something resembling the laid-back days of the internet again even if it's not that active. I kept hearing about it online but just thought "cool, another remake that I'd be the only person on." Turns out that's not the case!

Anyway, totally agree. I've felt better getting out of the dopamine traps, having less screen time, and retreating to places like these. I don't really want to be on my death bed in the future and think, "Is my final selfie getting enough likes?"

Social media is a virus.

I haven't really given up on social media to that commitment, I just distracted myself with spending time after school, outside of school, hanging out with my friends and boyfriend and my friends. But I am interested in buying a flip phone in the future! Like those old flip phones to minimize overconsumption and to enjoy the simplicity of time! until then though

I haven't really given up on social media to that commitment, I just distracted myself with spending time after school, outside of school, hanging out with my friends and boyfriend and my friends. But I am interested in buying a flip phone in the future! Like those old flip phones to minimize overconsumption and to enjoy the simplicity of time! until then though

I got rid of social meida, and ill never go back, i think people always go "i could NEVER do that i love tiktok so much" but theres other things in the world, once i was scrolling on tiktok and a video came up and it said "what was the last video you just watched" and i didnt know, i did try everything to limet my time on social media, but not come off it , but for me it was so much easier just to leave social media, im happy, i have more hobbies, and i have time to do things, i was talking to my friend and she said she spends 12 hours on tiktok EACH DAY on the weekend, and to me it just didnt fill me with anything, it was just a small quick feeling of happiness, and the fact is growing up with social media is "new" so no one knows what it does to peoples brains, in my country the goverment is tihnking of banning social media till 16, and i agree, i dont think its good, theres pros, but there is more cons (in my mind anyway!!!) But a con is not being in touch with your friends as much, like is used to send tiktok videos to my friends and we would always talk on there, or we would send snaps, but people dont check whatsapp as much 

i got rid of all social media for a few weeks when in a MH program. i felt the same way, i was less overwhelmed and overstimulated. but i also felt isolated. but its mostly cuz my friends didnt really bother to text me, lol. 

i think a lot about getting rid of my phone these days and going back to a flip, everything has just become too much. everyones trying to be the next big thing, companies do anything they can to grab your attention, half the shit is soft core porn. its just stupid.

need me a farm house away from society. 

It’s been a long time since I got rid of social media (since I was 18, and now I’m 30), and I’ve only just come back to one: this one. It strangely reminds me of the early days nostalgia, I suppose.

To be honest, I don’t even have a smartphone anymore. I needed every object to have a clear purpose again. I use my iPod for music, my dumbphone for communication, my notebook for writing, and a handheld console depending on my mood (GBC, GBA, DS).

The transition wasn’t even hard on the contrary, I’ve never felt so good. It’s like rediscovering the world with all its colors and textures.

When was the last time you walked barefoot and really felt the world under your feet?

i only have tiktok and pinterest where i only follow people with good vibes or with sick styles, but i mostly just use pinterest these days. if someone wants to reach me, they can just shoot me a message, which i may or may not check at some point because i have turned off all my notifications as well. i can't tell if social media is like a well-disguised tar pit or this strange lifeline for people like me who struggle with finding their people in real life

Okay so I've also dropped Insta, Rednote, and another SM I don't remember. I only have Youtube and Spacehey now. It may be early to say how it's going but it is a bit rough. SO many times within the last few hours I've automatically scrolled on my phone to where insta is only to then realize I ain't got it no more lol. Plus constricting Spacehey to my computer ONLY and watching video essays  about stuff I'm interested in on Youtube. My goal is to stay on only Spacehey, YouTube, and Snapchat and Pintrest.

I have been on a cleanse for almost half a year now. I deleted Facebook, Instagram, and recently Messenger as well. I still have Twitter, but I only use it when I feel like interacting with people. Whenever people want to communicate with me, I just give them my Telegram account. During my cleanse I felt the same way you did. But recently, I'm spiraling into old habits ever since school started last year. It pains me to be back into this state because honestly, I don't like feeling like shit. I'm definitely trying to get my spark back before school starts again so I can actually feel nice about myself. I try to lessen my time on social media, which is difficult btw because I am always on TikTok! I sometimes have no self-control, so I sometimes spend hours and hours on that app. 

Tomorrow, I'll try to go to bed without using any gadgets for 30 minutes before I fall asleep. That has helped me before, as well as not picking up my phone first thing in the morning.

red

omg im doing this atm too and it's very strict. I'm ngl i made an oopsie today and relapsed by watching yt then got to a comment section then made it to this website. I'm enjoying this site, but i want to live in the resl world. idrc abt messaging my friends becuz i told them all to message me only on the generic apple messages. but i feel like nno one ever does it fully. but i am. idk not to brag or anything

Im deleting all my social media becuz im a sucker for the unknown. im only 17 and grew up with youtube and my mother going on facebook instead of playing with me. im just curious how far i'll get without it llike instead of looking online for clothes or for shows I'll discover things in person and that's exciting

I deleted most things as well, and I felt a lot better for a bit. To be honest though now that I have less distractions in my life I do see myself falling into a bit of a depression. I'm pretty sure I've always been depressed though, I would just drown it out with my phone addiction. I don't really know where to go from here, I'm just so sad and lonely to the point where I want to go back to my old distracted lifestyle.. I'm gonna keep sticking it out though.. hope it gets better.. 

If anyone else is considering making the switch, just know that it might bring out some suppressed mental health issues. :( 

i still have yet been able to do this ;o my determination towards it needs to be stronger

Ok, you made me reduce my tik tok screen time from 4 to 3 hours thanks

anyone who's reading this, it would be best to think of what void that social media is filling for you, and how you could fill it another way. in other words, why are you addicted :,3. for me, social media is an escape from my thoughts and a mind-numbing drug. I'm planning to replace it with other things like crochet, and get more sun. I cant keep running from myself. 

I didn't necassarily "quit" but I stopped scrolling for hours at a time. The main reason why I have so many accounts is because I just want to find art for one specific character I like. So when I log on, I only check tags and searches for new art then log off. It feels great

Being 17 and raised on social media in all its splendor has truly been tedious. Being addicted, spending more than twelve hours in front of a world that doesn't exist, and in front of one so violent, honestly hurt me. My social skills faded, and my mood worsened every day. But, in April of this year, I decided to take a break. It was incredible. I used this platform, re-edited, YouTube, read, watched old series and movies, played Sims or Mario Bros., and spent time with real people. Now, almost in August, it's winter in my country, but I decided to take this break again, and from what I see, my entire summer will be old-fashioned. I'm happy to live without a cell phone. I recommend it.