screens and social media detox

I have tried to detox from social media and screens before. This is not the first time I do it. Each time, however, I am surprised at how much time I get back, how clear I feel, and how fast life becomes when it comes to fleshing out my desires.

It makes sense, of course. To stop being distracted by screens. Suddenly, I start living.

Manifestation happens because of where we put our attention. If we are constantly thinking about something, it eventually happens. Good or bad.

The key is always to keep our attention in what we want. If we are constantly being distracted by a million screens and constant new content. Our brain simply cannot handle it and our creative powers are diluted.

Why do a screen/social media detox?

If you want to actually enjoy your life the answer is to put the screens away.

Life happens right here in this present moment. If we want to enjoy what we have got going on, then we need to give it our attention. Your family, work, hobbies, and self-care will be happy to hear you want to actually devote yourself to them. Whether we think our life is in perfect condition or not, does not matter. Either way, if you have a not-so-great life, that means there is work to do so let’s get on it and stop being distracted. And if you have an amazing life, it’s time to enjoy it fully by being present.

Social media is especially tricky, more so than simple screens where you watch movies, read books and magazines, browse blogs… At least there your attention is on one thing for a prolonged period of time.

Social media is constantly trying to get our attention in less than a couple seconds per content. Our brain gets used to this constant input and gets scrambled! It was never meant to be taking in this much information in such a short amount of time.

Social media can be the reason why we feel our lives are not enough. It can be the reason why we feel we need to spend time, money, and effort into things that don’t matter for us. The moment you take away social media even for a short time, let’s say a week, clarity sweeps over us about what things actually matter!

How to do a screen/social media detox?

Put away the screens, that simple.

Make rules for yourself on when exactly you will use social media or screens. Maybe the rule is just one movie a week on Fridays, maybe it is no screens at all for two, three, or four weeks.

Maybe you work on Social Media and you need to be constantly on there. If this is the case, you can put rules to only do the desktop version so you don’t get sucked into scrolling for hours. Whatever works for you. You can also schedule posts and delete the social media app of your phone. Get creative.

The social media and screen detox will give you a lot of time back. It can even make you feel bored, which is actually a good thing. Prepare for this eventuality by investing in hobbies. I am a big reader, dancer, meditating and yoga are my jam, and obviously I love writing. What are your prefered hobbies? Where do you want to be investing this extra time?

One of the main things you should do before doing a detox of this kind is figure out why you want to go on it? Is it because you want your brain to be healthier? Develop new routines? Find magic in life again? Figure out exactly why.

Whatever your why is, I promise you everything you desire will manifest way quicker if you are putting in the inner work (part of that is to not get distracted) constantly.

Remember that manifesting is to put 1. constant attention and 2. constant showing-up to your craft and it will flesh out. No matter what it is that you want in your life.

You can’t heal and move forward to new levels if you are always numbing out with screens, substances, or people.

Checklist to go into this detox:

• Hard and fast rules for WHEN and WHERE you can use screens/social media

• Investing in a few new hobbies/endeavors you want to consciously put your attention and time on

• Know your why and stand behind it for the period of time you are doing this

Alternatives to a complete detox

If you don’t want to go on a full detox, you can simply organize and declutter your screens and social media apps.

The content we consume is as important as any food or nourishment would be. If you are constantly consuming negative content or content that makes you feel negatively about yourself or life, then it will affect your days in ways you might not even be conscious about.

I recommend simply unfollowing or restricting the people you no longer want to be in contact with on your social media. Maybe put a phone limit on how much time you can be in these social media apps. You can always train your algorithm in streaming services and such to not show you content you do not enjoy.

I used to enjoy horror movies and documentaries about really dark topics until I realized this type of information is feeding my body and mind things I do not want in my life. I now cut it out completely. I recommend you do the same. You will feel the difference within a month or less.

My experience with social media detoxing

I had a bit of an addiction to social media for a second there. The moment I realized how out of hand it got, I put limits. I am a libra 6th house, naturally, I enjoy balance in my life.

My limits included deleting social media apps from my phone (I would download them to post or simply schedule posts) and completely taking away any shows or movies I was watching. Instead, I leaned into my love for reading, yoga, meditating, dancing. I doubled down on my desires, on consciously manifesting what I want. Immediately, I manifested a job with a lovely human being that is so aligned for me.

I am always surprised by how quickly things pop if you simply focus ALL your attention on it without disengaging for even a moment. Social media slows down our creative process. If we get bored, we naturally go do things. I let myself be bored and I let my creativity shine without so much consumption.

If only I did this all the time! I am going to start inserting social media and screen breaks into my years at least a month every quarter. I’ll update how this feels and how much I achieve in a year. I think if we set out to build things and we set our entire energy on it, our desires happen way quicker and we connect more deeply to ourselves.