What I Learned After My 30-Day Social Media Detox (Read If You Think You Might Be Addicted Too)

Ever since I started my calligraphy business two years ago, I’ve been on social media every single day⁠—without any break. Social media, and especially Instagram, has been vital in me running my business because I use it to promote my products and services, stay in contact with potential clients, and create content helping calligraphers grow their businesses.

But when is it too much?

I believe that we can use social media for a lot of great things⁠—and it’s awesome especially for business owners⁠—but it can also be harmful if we aren’t using it right or if it gets in the way of our more important priorities.

Why I deleted Instagram for one month

For two years, I never went a day without going on Instagram. Last month, it had also been exactly one year since I quit my job. 

For months, I had been working non-stop in my business: promoting my coaching programs for calligraphers, hosting calligraphy workshops in Vancouver, and networking with other business owners.

I had been neglecting other parts of my life, like my family, friends, my mental wellbeing, so this break was long overdue.

My mom hadn’t been doing so well in terms of her mental health due to activities being cancelled this year because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to take some time to support her more. 

I also wanted to focus more on supporting my current clients in my 1:1 coaching and group coaching program, as well as finishing recording the course modules for Calligraphy Business Accelerator.⁣⁣

I wanted to take some time off Instagram to reflect and plan for the future, as well as work on other things in my business, like doing more corporate team-building calligraphy workshops on Zoom. 

I realized that I fell out of touch with a lot of my old friends. I was chatting with strangers and potential clients way more on social media than catching up with my actual friends. That made me sad and frustrated at myself. 

Though I mainly used Instagram for my business, I found that I was spending an insane amount of time on it every day⁠—approximately 2-3 hours⁠—most of which was spent on scrolling through stories and the feed, and checking DMs every time I opened my phone.

I wasn’t using Instagram in a healthy way. I hate to say I was addicted to it, but I was. Every time I opened my phone, my default would be to click on Instagram and start scrolling or checking DMs. It was distracting and an unproductive use of my time.   

So, what could be done? I decided to delete Instagram off my phone for a month and only using the desktop version to check DMs and check up on what my clients are doing.⁣

I needed a clean break to reflect and recharge.

Now that it’s been a month, I wanted to share some things that I learned. I hope these are useful for you as a continue to use social media.

Key takeaway #1: Social media does not replace having actual conversations with friends

I follow my friends on my calligraphy business account, and I see what they’re doing.

I used to think that because I know what they’re up to, my friends and I don’t really need to talk.

But yes, even though catching up with friends is hugely about knowing what’s new in their lives, it’s not the same when you have an actual conversation versus seeing them post about their life on social media.

For me, I want to hear from their perspective how the activities they are doing in their life are affecting the way they think or teaching them new things⁠—usually, what people share on social media are just factual, and not reflective. (Example: Sharing a picture of food rather than talk about the experience of going to that restaurant.)

During this one month off Instagram, I reconnected with several friends that I didn’t talk to for a long time. It was awesome.

I didn’t realize how much I missed my friends⁠—and it’s especially difficult because we’re all in quarantine because of COVID.

Catching up over video with my friends made me feel so thankful for the amazing support I have in my life.

Key takeaway #2: If you’re not on social media, you’re not missing out on much

Gosh, I’m so guilty of believing that if I’m not on social media, I’m missing out.

I was so wrong.

During this month off Instagram, I realized that there was so much more to life than following people and sharing things on social media. Don’t get me wrong⁠—I love learning about what others are doing through their stories and posts, and I know that creating content is a part of how I can grow my business⁠—but I had totally forgotten that I had actual hobbies of my own.

I dyed the ends of my hair green this month. Normally, I would share my new hair on Instagram just for fun, but I didn’t have the app on my phone. I was forced to not say anything about it.

Guess what I realized? I could cherish my new hair all by myself. I sent a picture to my boyfriend and a couple of close friends instead, and I felt so happy to be sharing this little joy with the closest people in my life.

I realized that I was sharing way too much of my life on Instagram. Doing that actually diminished the joy I received from the small little pleasures in life compared to if I had just relished in those pleasures with my close circle⁣.

During this month, I found more time to enjoy hobbies that I had forgotten about: I started making kombucha again, I started journaling more, and I started to listen to more audiobooks.

So what if I don’t see everyone’s updates on Instagram? I don’t feel like I’m missing out on much anymore.

This month, I also caught up with my good friend who had deleted all social media (including Facebook) for a year. And he told me he was actually enjoying life to the fullest. He keeps in contact with friends through Whatsapp mainly.

Key learning #3: It’s okay to take a break⁠

I wish I was a powerhouse worker. I wish I could power through each day and complete all my responsibilities to 110% of my abilities.

But we’re human. Yes, we are capable of stretching ourselves to reach our biggest goals and we want to work hard to do well, but at some point, we need to rest.

Rest is so important.

I was truly burnt out from social media and not using it in a healthy way.

I needed a deep cleanse to get myself back to feeling normal.

During this one month, I felt very productive in my business. My goal was to rest from social media, not to rest in general.

Completely being off Instagram helped me to focus my energy on other parts of my business that I wanted to grow. This month, I taught three corporate team-building calligraphy workshops on Zoom, supported my coaching clients more, and wrote three new blog posts!

Resting from Instagram was a huge energy booster in all aspects of my life as well: I felt less stressed, less tired, and overall just a lot more motivated.

Key takeaway #4: Social media isn’t the problem⁠—it’s how you use it

Now that my one month is over, I’m actually looking forward to going back on social media.

Social media itself wasn’t ever the problem⁠—I have a generally positive perception of social media because it helps people stay in touch and connect with new people⁠—but how we use it can be a problem.

For me, the problem was an addiction to social media. I just couldn’t get off it. I thought I would miss something important if I didn’t check it every hour. I thought someone wouldn’t want to be my client if I didn’t respond within a few minutes.

I was so wrong.

There is a way to use social media in a healthy way. For me, I’m learning to not let it overtake my life. I understand why I feel the need to be on social media all the time⁠—well heck, I want to grow my business⁠—but I need to set some boundaries for myself.  

How I’m going to keep using social media

I quite like not having Instagram on my phone⁠—but for my business, I need to be on social media, at least for the next couple of months. So what do I plan to do going forward?

I’m going to reinstall Instagram on my phone but only use it to post my own content. I will only browse stories and posts, and reply to DMs on my desktop during normal work hours.

I’ll go back to being a user of Instagram, but I’ll limit myself to only creating content, and not really consuming content. If I want to consume content, I'll go listen to an Audiobook or read a magazine.

Balance is key

I know that this blog post might have painted social media in a negative light, but I didn’t intend it to be that way. I’m a huge fan of social media for many reasons, but I just don’t think the way I was using it was healthy.

It’s difficult to find balance, but I’m going to try to do it anyways. I know that this one month off Instagram was healthy for me. I’m going back, but it’s going to be different. And I feel good about going back, woohoo!

If social media ever feels draining, then I know that I’ve been using it too much. Then I’ll have to step back and evaluate whether I’m using it in a healthy way.

My challenge for you

My challenge for you is to evaluate how you use social media this week.

Ask yourself, do I feel good after using social media or do I feel bad if I use it?

Whether response you have, ask yourself why. Will you do something about it?