Breaking Free from the Scroll

Y’all, I am so embarrassed by how much time I have spent on social media in the last couple of months—it’s honestly disgusting. I have a couple of theories about why I was spending time on Instagram like it was my left limb, but I am not about to trauma dump. Instead, I am going to share my plan to bring my social media usage down to only two to three times a week.

Why?

What is wrong with being on your phone all day, every day? Other than the fact that it ruins my mental health and causes me to deteriorate? Or that I could feel my attention span slipping and struggling to focus on anything? I love to read, I have talked about it here, and I write monthly book reviews—except in the last couple of months—I don’t even find reading as fun anymore. That’s when I knew things were not going well—when this month, instead of writing a monthly book recap, I am writing this. Why? Because I read one book, and even then, I skimmed it because I could not focus on it.

Also, I am tired of the algorithm telling me what to see and hear. I am tired of the constant ads on all social media platforms. It’s crazy that I can no longer scroll without seeing an ad. Why do we have so many ads everywhere? No matter what—whether you want to watch a movie, a show, read a magazine, or scroll through your socials—you cannot escape them. It’s honestly scary how much advertisement we consume across all social media platforms. Also, let’s not even get started on the creepy way our phones listen to us and give us targeted ads.

It’s not normal.

My Plan

This year, especially this quarter, I want to focus more on creating than consuming—mainly to get my mental health back in check. I also want to focus on what brings me joy. One of those things is creating blog posts. Writing is one of my favorite ways to spend my mornings on my day off.

I love sharing my thoughts, writing opinion pieces, and sprinkling in some personal life events. I also love sharing my work as a social worker. So, I plan to spend more time growing this blog and expanding my thoughts—especially on opinion-based posts.

Another way I’m cutting back on my phone use (and social media) is by simply putting it out of sight. The saying “out of sight, out of mind” really rings true for me. If I don’t see my phone, I won’t be tempted to pick it up and start scrolling.

I’ve talked before about deleting my socials before going to work to avoid scrolling on the weekends. It’s when I’m off work that I struggle the most. So, I’m starting by deleting Instagram off my phone at least five times a week to break the habit.

I already have my phone set to Do Not Disturb while I’m working and after 6 p.m. every day. This helps a ton. I also keep all notifications turned off—except for texts—so I’m not constantly distracted by pings and alerts.

If there’s an emergency, people can reach my siblings, my work, or my parents. But also, I think it’s strange how society expects immediate responses. Uhm, no. You can wait an hour. Nothing is life or death. Trust me—if it was, people would find a way to get in touch with you.

The way we’ve been conditioned to respond instantly to every text, notification, email, and call is something that needs to be studied. A couple of decades ago, people weren’t glued to their phones 24/7. It was normal to get home from work, check messages, and return calls when it was convenient.

So why does it feel like we have to be available every second of the day now?