I’ve been an ardent reader for the last 5 years, and I’ve read over 250 books on a wide range of themes and genres. I mostly read nonfiction and self-help books.
Looking at things from a third-person viewpoint, I saw that my capacity to concentrate has declined considerably over the last two years as a result of my daily consumption of an infinite stream of material on various social media platforms.
I felt less energized, happier, and more nervous. And all of this was occurring on a much deeper level. And I couldn’t shake the excitement I had while reading a book.
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One day I was done consuming content mindlessly and decided to have a digital detox for 10 days.
Here are the improvements I saw within the first 10 days that inspired me to continue the detox for another 20 days.
The first 2-3 days were difficult; my brain needed those behaviors of browsing through social media and viewing YouTube videos, but I didn’t give them to it. I was resolved to keep fighting until I found out what was on the other side of the tunnel.
After the first week, you go through a honeymoon period where you wonder why you were spending so much time on these sites in the first place.
I could feel my superpowers returning; I could read for hours without even hankering for social media.
I suddenly felt like I had more than 24 hours in a day to get everything done while still having time to wash the dishes, make my bed, and complete other home tasks.
My sleep cycle has improved; formerly, I used to sleep until about midnight and occasionally much later. But now that I don’t have social media, I’m falling asleep much earlier. And believe me when I say that the seeds of a wonderful day are sown during a good night’s sleep.
My body felt better when I slept properly; I felt more vibrant and less foggy. And felt inspired to replicate excellent actions with little or no effort the next day.
When I didn’t have anything else to do, I sat by myself and let my thoughts fly like a kite in the sky. Nothing felt better than doing nothing. It provided me the opportunity to reflect on my life and my ambitions. These dull sessions turned out to be the most fruitful use of my time since I always came up with a fresh thought or a new viewpoint that let me see and experience things differently.
I became more aware of the small things around me; I’m not sure why, but I felt more empathic. I was eating without a device in front of me, so I was more conscious and appreciative of each mouthful of food, and strangely, I felt fuller with less food.
I’ve been working out for nearly a year now, and these 30 days made me feel the same way: worst at the beginning, indestructible at the end.
I read the novels that I had always wanted to read but had put off for various reasons. I felt dumb for spending so much time on social media since the idea of viewing hilarious cat videos, memes, and other poisonous material crowded my head to the point that I wasn’t feeling well, and I felt alienated from myself.
A life without social media is far more enticing than the glitz of social media platforms. However, it is a less traveled route, and the first few days will seem as if you are missing a limb, but as you spend more days without it, the life of no social media will entice you to the point where you will no longer feel like your old self.
My Personal Opinion On This Is Quite Simple And Practical
People normally argue that excess of anything is bad, but the trouble with social media platforms is that they are far more addictive than we believe them to be; design engineers are making six-figure salaries to make them addicting by leveraging the psychology of human behavior. As a result, it is extremely difficult to create a border where regulations may be established and followed.
Solution: Find an accountability partner who is as determined to change as you are, if not more, and establish some ground rules for achieving each other’s shared goals.
