How important is a social media detox and how frequently should we have one?
Tapsi
29 replies
Replies
Alexey Shashkov@shashcoffe
FromNotion
Hey, Tapsi. I don't think we need to detox social media if we love it and it's an important part of our job=)
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@shashcoffe Yep, I agree. As a marketer, I can never completely stop using social media but I try to balance the time I spend on it.
WiFi Map
@shashcoffe Of course. Detox here probably means a voluntary pause in the personal capacity not in a professional one. I'm also a marketer and a social media detox doesn't impact my understanding of the social world or kills my connection with it. It simply means I'm spending more time with myself than my cellphone/laptop.
FromNotion
@shashcoffe I try to shut off my personal accounts once in a while to give myself space to think. I recently uninstalled Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram from my phone (wonder if that caused the outage haha). Now, I only use it on browser if necessary. So, this limits my usage as the UX on browser isn't great.
FromNotion
Personally, I am not on social media more than I am on it. For my company, we're in the process of adjusting the engagement with the community.
I just have a rule if I hang out with people I don't check my phone. Nice small breaks. At least it stops the everlasting acting upon phone addiction for some time :)
I deleted my instagram profile for good 30 days ago and its been the best decision ever! I collated some of my thoughts here: https://medium.com/@swatipoddar/...
WiFi Map
I've tried it twice in last two yrs. Took break from social apps and texting etc. for 3 months/yr. I replaced it with writing, thinking, observing and being mindful.
Currently, the routine to stay "not addicted" involves relaxing music and meditation using an app.
WiFi Map
I think Social Media is great when used for a good purpose. I have liked and follow so many things like the knowledgeable things related to my field, fun things to destress myself, things that I am interested in and want to know how it's going,etc.
Social media detox is like myths. It's part of our life and pretending like it's not here is just toxic, not detox. Be an adult and get plan your timing guys!
@handeeyilmazz I think anything can get toxic if we don't view it in the right light. When you are addicted to social media for validation, it's unhealthy. At the same time, if you are taking a break from it and all the time wondering what you'll do when you get back is also not healthy. Needing to maintain that balance is the key.
I think going and reading the opposing views is a really important part of social media, not necessarily a detox regiment. But the social media algos and the people we follow puts us in thought silos. Some times those silos are not very productive and an alternate perspective can be really useful in judging your ideas or products.
It can be refreshing and productive to get an alternative view. But it can be hard getting out of that silo. Right now I am trying to figure out how important social media really is to grow a business and get an alternate perspective from people who have grown their business without social media. But it is really hard because those people are not on social media!
Brief on Demand by Amy
After yesterday's social media outage, this question seems more relevant than ever :)
Userdome
Hi Tapsi, it depends on the platform, imo. For example, I’m happier when I don’t use FB or Instagram so I would say that I have detox twice a month for these two platforms. On the other side, I enjoy using Twitter where is awesome community of entrepreneurs and professionals. I don’t need break from tweeting. :)
Hi, Tapsi! I believe, it's essential for out minds to have such detox regularly. Certainly, that's impossible to avoid using social media for quite a long time if your work is connected with it. However, it would be profitable for your sleep quality and for health if you don't watch at screens a few hours before sleep time.
I think it's very important. For one thing, I suggest that we all turn off notifications and only check these apps when we want to, as opposed to having our attention grabbed by new notifications. If that is not feasible for you, at least modify your phone's settings such that notifications from WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook etc don't make your phone ring or vibrate. Maybe just limit the alert to the blinking of your phone's notification light if it has one. Otherwise, just stick with no ringing or vibrating.
In my case, I started out by stopping WhatsApp's notifications from causing my phone to ring or vibrate. This was a relief as it made me see alerts only when I next opened my phone, not immediately the alert arrived. Now, I've turned off notifications altogether and I only check-in on the app when I want to.
Even if you can't go as far as I have, I suggest you do something drastic to take back the time and attention that these platforms have been wrangling from you.