Digital wellness

None of this is expert advice. It's what people worked out for themselves, usually the hard way — what actually helped, and what they'd tell someone standing where you are. Take what fits and leave the rest.

How this was put together

If you only read a few

Unfollow everyone on Facebook except for bands and your five closest friends.
It saves hours a day.
- People may get angry at you for unfollowing them.
one person who lived it
Cut the dopamine drip by deleting apps, making your phone grayscale, and stopping the filling of quiet seconds with noise.
The resulting silence gives you a fighting chance.
- The silence may feel brutal initially.
one person who lived it
Use time limits on apps like TikTok if your screen time has ballooned to extreme levels.
One person used time limits to shut things down after their screen time reached 11 hours a day.
one person who lived it
Use app timers or parental controls to lock social media apps after a short duration to prevent doom-scrolling.
It prevents unlimited usage.
3 people, independently
- Set a maximum limit on the amount of time you spend on social media each day.3
- Delete social media apps from your phone and use only a laptop to reduce opportunities for mindless scrolling.3
Take a one-week break from social media by deleting apps, deactivating accounts, and closing notifications to test if it brings calmness.
It may be the calmest week you have had in a while.
one person who lived it

media, friends, social, recognize44

Turn off Facebook but keep Messenger running so you can talk to close friends without viewing the feed.
4 people, independently
Talk to people face-to-face instead of lingering on their profiles to understand them.
One person found this made them much more social.
one person who lived it
Do not judge peers who enjoy social media; accept that their reasons for liking it are valid.
To avoid becoming smug.
one person who lived it
Delete social media to regain your life without missing anything important.
You will not regret the hours spent scrolling on your deathbed.
one person who lived it
- Take yourself off social media so your life remains a mystery.1

36 more on this

Take photos for your own enjoyment and memory-keeping rather than for social media likes.
It helps you be more present.
2 people, independently
- Focus on private life over public display by living in the moment without worrying about taking photos for social media.1
Focus on having real conversations with people in real life and exploring new areas over virtual interactions.
The people around you feel much more important and impactful.
one person who lived it
Start slow with a detox by deleting apps first, then deleting accounts later, to get used to the change.
It'll take some time getting used to.
one person who lived it
Stop scrolling through feeds like Facebook; instead, set a specific time limit to review saved knowledge-based posts daily.
to reset
one person who lived it
Delete social media apps from your phone to notice a huge difference.
One person noticed a huge difference after deleting the apps.
2 people, independently
Stay off social media because it is not reality.
Social media is not reality.
one person who lived it
Unfollow people and pages whose content you do not care about.
You may gradually lose interest in scrolling and avoid seeing unwanted schemes.
one person who lived it
Recognize that you are the product when using a service for free.
one person who lived it
Consider reinstalling social media apps if you miss communicating with friends through means other than text.
You may miss non-text communication with friends.
one person who lived it
Expect initial boredom and the unconscious urge to check your phone when quitting social media, knowing these feelings will pass.
3 people, independently
Use video calls to catch up with friends to foster genuine curiosity about their lives.
It creates a feeling of genuinely wanting to know what is going on.
one person who lived it
Limit phone use to essential functions like calling, texting, and banking.
This simplification has a huge positive impact on life.
one person who lived it
- Declutter your phone to declutter your mind and simplify your digital environment.1
View social media as a one-way advertising platform rather than a space for engagement.
Looking at metrics is important if you are selling something.
one person who lived it
Reduce doom scrolling in baby steps and focus on discipline rather than deleting social media entirely if it is your primary connection to friends.
Deleting it might cut off your friends.
one person who lived it
Remind yourself that not everyone does exciting things every day and that people often only share the good parts of their lives.
Knowing this prevents social media content from reaching your head negatively.
one person who lived it
Use direct communication methods like texting or calling to maintain close relationships instead of relying on social media feeds.
Passive observation on social media can feel lonely; direct interaction creates genuine connection and saves time.
3 people, independently
Step away from the endless scroll of agree/disagree reactions to formulate your own nuanced thoughts more clearly.
one person who lived it
Recognize that Reddit can consume significant time and foster echo chambers like other social media.
It supports confirmation bias and has the same issues as other platforms.
one person who lived it
Avoid traveling with friends who travel 'just for the gram,' as constant photoshoots can be exhausting and detract from enjoying the scenery.
Non-stop photo taking prevents enjoyment of the environment.
one person who lived it
Share songs or pictures directly with specific friends via text rather than posting publicly.
Tailoring content to one specific person makes the interaction feel more meaningful.
one person who lived it
Remove acquaintances from your Snapchat contacts and keep only close friends to help reduce clutter.
One person reported that cutting down contacts helped after removing everyone but close friends.
one person who lived it
Keep only communication-focused apps like WhatsApp and remove image-centric apps to avoid comparison.
Apps that show a perfect life contribute to comparison.
one person who lived it
Ignore big 'personalities' on social media who focus on ad revenue over community.
They realistically do not care about their community, but only for ad revenue.
one person who lived it
If you consider returning to social media later, look at your old posts to remind yourself why you need to stay away.
one person who lived it
Resist using platforms designed to amplify hate and misery for engagement.
Algorithms boost content that makes users miserable to increase usage time.
one person who lived it
Delete social media accounts if you find yourself scrolling for useless information that creates a false reality about others' lives.
Scrolling excessively absorbs useless information and creates a false reality; if you scroll more than appropriate, it is not helpful.
one person who lived it
Adopt an outside perspective on social media influencers by recognizing their fakeness.
which can reduce envy and increase appreciation for a quiet, authentic life
one person who lived it
- Recognize that social media updates are often fake highlights hiding arguments and debt behind nice photos to reduce envy.1
Delete social media to preserve your social battery for real-world interactions with family and colleagues.
Social media drains energy needed for meaningful connections, particularly for introverts.
one person who lived it
Replace negative or political social media groups with communities of positive people.
It helps you remain unaffected by ridiculous content online.
one person who lived it
Accept that feeling like you should do things when seeing others do them is normal human behavior.
one person who lived it
Use social networks for meaningful activities, such as finding unique information and communicating with living people to learn something new.
Social networks can help in personal growth.
one person who lived it
Recognize that while social media content is fake and copyable, true authenticity cannot be copied.
one person who lived it
Recognize that the promise of connecting with everyone has resulted in widespread dysfunction and faking lives.
one person who lived it
Recognize that receiving likes on social media provides a dopamine rush similar to hugging someone, which can reduce motivation to interact in real life.
one person who lived it
Collect phone numbers from friends before deleting social media to ensure you can maintain real-life connections without relying on platform messaging.
3 people, independently
Recognize that many social media connections are superficial, involving people you haven't spoken to in months aside from sharing memes.
one person who lived it

reading, focus, hobbies, time24

Pinpoint your core values and focus on activities that back them up over lesser priorities.

Read books to stay engaged and recover creativity after quitting social media.
One person was able to read and stay engaged for the first time in years, feeling creativity return after three days.
2 people, independently
Replace mindless scrolling with active tasks and hobbies to reclaim time and increase productivity.
Spending time doing productive things boosts self-esteem and happiness without needing to prove worth to others.
3 people, independently
Spend less time inside on your phone; instead, socialize, create goals, and explore.
Spending every second on the phone wastes your life indoors.
one person who lived it
Focus entirely on your own life and mind your own business.
It is a liberating experience.
one person who lived it

18 more on this

Pinpoint your core values and focus on activities that back them up over lesser priorities.
4 people, independently
Embrace the feeling of not knowing what is going on in other people's lives.
The speaker describes this state as amazing and equates it to bliss.
one person who lived it
Step away from social media to find new hobbies, such as gardening, baking, or following sports.
4 people, independently
- Fill the time previously spent on social media with offline hobbies such as reading, painting, dancing, writing, rock climbing, hiking, playing music, cooking, cleaning, working out, or photography.3
- When you have an urge to check social media, distract yourself with productive offline activities like fresh air, non-online video games, reading, walking, or painting.1
Cycle or cook while listening to music to create nice offline experiences.
It feels nice and really helps.
one person who lived it
Focus on finding yourself, your relationships, career, and hobbies instead of chasing relevance.
There is always something going on elsewhere; you are special for finding yourself, not for finding the news.
one person who lived it
Focus on what you like and invest in your own time rather than seeking validation from others.
Relying on yourself for validation provides comfort.
2 people, independently
Turn your phone to airplane mode in the evening to focus on reading unread books and comics.
one person who lived it
Put down your phone and allow yourself to get bored without distraction to find motivation to do something.
Scrolling prevents you from living your life; boredom can lead to motivation.
one person who lived it
Focus on family, career, and self-improvement to use the bandwidth and energy previously spent on getting angry at vile opinions on social media.
It leads to a more productive year.
one person who lived it
Replace time spent on social media with reading books or learning new topics.
One person reported feeling better and discovering new interests, such as geography, after deleting apps.
2 people, independently
Focus intensely on yourself, family, exercise, and self-betterment to build resilience against social media pull.
Being disconnected from meaningful things allows social media to drag you back.
one person who lived it
Avoid opening your phone, social media, or news first thing in the morning; find dopamine elsewhere like journaling or reading.
Stress levels noticeably dropped.
one person who lived it
Intentionally choose what to think about instead of passively scrolling, which reduces impulsive buying driven by feelings of lack.
Passive scrolling exposes you to the idea that you are lacking, leading to more purchases.
one person who lived it
Read 'Stolen Focus' by Johan Hari to understand digital distraction.
The book is described as a great resource on the topic.
one person who lived it
Take up memorable, impactful real-world experiences like collecting flowers or talking to strangers.
Real-world interactions are more memorable than digital ones.
one person who lived it
When doing tasks like cleaning, moving, sleeping, exercising, or talking to someone, think in terms of improvement.
one person who lived it
Swap the impulse to scroll for other pursuits such as reading, walking, or listening to music.
4 people, independently
Use breaks from social media to delve into reading, journaling, meditating, and watching self-improvement videos to absorb information that builds you as an individual.
It allowed for self-reflection and absorbing information that built the individual.
one person who lived it

Play pickleball as a social activity to meet new people and relieve work stress.
It is a very social sport that serves as an outlet from work stress.
one person who lived it