On the afternoon of December 31, 2023 I made an announcement on Instagram and Facebook that I would be taking January 2024 off of social media and not returning until February.

I stuck with my month off social media, and now that January is over, I thought I’d share a bit of why I wanted to take this break, how it went, and what I think will change for me going forward.

Why did I take a break from social media?

I took a break from social media for a few reasons. The first was that I felt like I was spending too much time on social media. I wanted to use the time I spent on social media to pursue other hobbies like reading, going for walks, and cooking. I also had started to feel like a portion of what I was seeing in Instagram reels (and in the comment section) was toxic and would leave me feeling negative. As someone who has been on some form of social media since my teenage years, I was also hoping that being disconnected would allow me to be present in the moment with my family and friends.

What did I not miss while off social media?

While I was off social media I felt a sense of peace and actually adjusted to not checking Facebook and Instagram more easily than I thought I would. I am someone who definitely experiences FOMO (fear of missing out) and without being on social media, I had a lot less of that feeling because I wasn’t aware of what others were doing. There was also something nice about going about my own life without having the inclination to post what I was doing. I felt like I had an increase in mental space for creativity and felt more present in the moment in social situations.

What did I miss while off social media?

There were some elements of social media I missed. Foremost, there are some events I was sent a Facebook invitation for that I didn’t know about until I went back online (fortunately I was still able to make one of the important ones!). I also realized that one way I stay connected with my local community is through Facebook groups, so I did miss seeing updates from those as well. There are also some social media personalities that I follow and enjoy their content so I missed seeing their latest updates.

I think the element of giving up social media I didn’t expect to miss is how being on it makes me feel connected to a larger world – I felt out of the loop without it at times. Somehow having an online presence feels like proof that I am a person who is interconnected to others.

What are my takeaways and what will I do going forward?

My first takeaway was that I felt really refreshed after a month off social media – and I would recommend that people try a social media break to see how it impacts them if they feel they spend too much time on it. To do so effectively, I found that posting what I was doing before taking the break kept me accountable.

Once my month off social media was over, I struggled in the first few days of how I wanted to approach social media now that I could use it again. I knew that I wanted to continue to use Facebook and Instagram, but in a more limited capacity than I had before my month off.

I first started by using screen time on my phone to limit my usage, but kept ignoring the usage limit for Instagram, so that wasn’t very effective. I then tried only looking at Facebook and Instagram on my computer (rather than phone), which meant I had to get on the computer to do so, which was a way to limit myself. Instagram is harder to view and consume on a computer instead of a phone though, so that didn’t work out either. 

In the past few days though I think I have found the right balance. Facebook I have limited myself to looking at on the computer for the most part, but I did download the Instagram app. I turned off screen time and am just keeping myself conscious of how long I am spending on it each day. Some days there is interesting content that I want to consume, so I allow myself to do so with a reasonable time limit. Other times I find that what I see is uninteresting or negative, so I move on quickly. Overall though I am spending a lot less time on both and feel better about it. 

My biggest takeaway is that it is easy to feel like “life” is happening on social media, but it’s not. Life is the day to day moments of what you are doing, and living in the present is a better feeling than living online.