3 reasons why I did social media detox experiment.

Last year in November 2018, I did social media detox experiment. It wasn't planned. But surprisingly, it lasted for 2 weeks. In those two weeks, I witnessed a tremendous change in my routine. By just deactivating my social media accounts, I became productive. Few days were challenging and I was procrastinating a lot. But then, it became my habit to stay away from my phone. I indulged myself in writing and reading more. These activities kept me motivated. I stay focused on my social media detox experiment. Believe me, It was a fun activity.

We all know, social media provides us unlimited content that attracts us to consume extra information.

In India, people spend 17 hours per week on social media. 

I consumed pointless information which had no use in my real life, just like you do.
Unnecessary, we all check our phones. Even though, we don't receive any notification.

Believe me or not, but, for me, social media detox was a saviour. How and Why? Well, I will answer your questions in this blog post.

Why did I do social media detox experiment?  

`1. Social media detox to cure mental illness.

Yes, Dealing with mental illness was tough. I won't mention the reasons for my mental illness. But, social media was feeding my negative mind and was making the situation more worst. I was only consuming negative contents from social sites. I needed to put myself out from the condition without telling anyone about anything.
Anxiety attacks still visit me occasionally, but, I cope up with it. Don't judge me for this, we all are humans and not robots. Feeling these emotions are normal.
I know, not everyone accepts mental illness but it is a part of our lives. All we have to do is, instead of staying in the situation, move out. Reach out to someone if you want to. But, don't stuck. It is hard to deal with mental illness, I know. It eats you up from inside out. Moving out from the bed seems like the hardest task. We feel helpless, self-doubts root inside us, and we drag ourselves in the worst situation. But, you have to move.
You know, I used to give myself a pep talk every time back then. I do it even today, whenever it is needed, to push myself.
Every now and then, I still try social media detoxification to embrace that mental illness.

2. Utilize my time wisely. 
Wasting our time is what we all are good at. Jumping from one app to another and scrolling till we reach to the end, is our everyday routine.
Ultimately, taking the challenge of social media detox was what I needed. It was the best decision I took. Somewhere, I knew that I needed a break and I had to take a step back, to have my mental peace back.
The motive was to invest my time in polishing my skills and to get that me time.

3. Social media detox to change my routine.
Have you heard of a couch potato? Yeah, that was me.
Once I tracked my screen time and noticed that I used to use Instagram for like 3-4 hours a day, Youtube at least 3 hours a day, Whatsapp for 2-3 hours a day and Facebook for 1-2 hours a day. Everytime, I was busy scrolling the internet, without any important work to do.
Undoubtedly, I walked on a strange road to accomplish some tasks in my head.

Those tasks were simple but 1st one wasn't: 

• Wake up early as I was not a morning bird, 
• Write in a journal as I stopped writing in it,
• Read a book to consume good content and because it gives me life, 
• Listen to a podcast to get some motivation,
• Lastly, practice staying away from the screen because it was the need of an hour. 

In the process of social media detox experiment, I spent more time with myself. I did all the good things, got involved in household work without taking it as a burden, cleaned my bookshelf, helped my mother, and spent more time with my family. But, after two weeks, I came back on Instagram, Whatsapp, Snapchat and Facebook. I noticed that I was insanely repeating the activities. I don't want to do it again.

But, this time I smartly, turned off my app notifications. So, I won't burn my time again. Even today, my notifications are off and I'm not missing anything at all.
Now, you will see the result of social media detox experiment in the screenshot below.
Well, the average time I spend on Instagram is 53 minutes. Here's, the proof.

You must be wondering, what about the other apps. I don't use them much.

Woah! You have reached to the end of this article.
Social media detox experiment gave me peace and uttermost happiness. It was a win win  challenge for me. Now, I see life from a different prespective. In this process, neither I lost anything nor did I miss anything.

It was something new I tried in 2018. Sharing this article in 2019 doesn't mean it's too late. It is the information you didn't know about. I think you should try it too. I challenge you all.

Okay! I understand that in the tech-centric era, we can't quit social media. But, we can ocassionally try this social media detox experiment. Right? Trust me! Once in a while try that, it won't harm you or anyone else.

Be the change and see the change. At least, limit your screen time.
It's high time buddy! Push those obstacles to reach your goals. Don't kill your time.

I am Navodita, signing off for now. Will see you soon in the next blog post. Till then play smart. Try the social media detox experiment. Share what you felt after the social media detox or how it changed your life.
Have you tried it before? Tell me in the comments section below.
- LOVE TO ALL!