Quitting Social Media+Youtube
Since time management and self-improvement is also a part of my project, I decided to quit Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube. I downloaded this Google extension that blocks you from entering specific websites, deleted all social media apps from my phone, and set restrictions on Safari as well. It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve started to do this, and honestly, I do go into these sites every once in a while (rarely) but not as much as before
I usually don’t use Facebook often anyway so it was easy to block it. I quit Instagram because it was definitely negatively impacting me both time-wise and mentally. On Instagram, I would constantly compare myself to others and used to have thoughts like “I wish I could go to Europe too, she’s so lucky,” and “why can’t I be pretty like her?” Even though I knew Instagram was subconsciously hurting my self-esteem, I still went on it constantly. Also, if I was on a family trip, I found myself thinking about what to post on Instagram rather than focusing on spending time with my family and having a good time. After I stopped using Instagram, I cared less about what others thought about me and stopped comparing myself to others (also stopped judging other people as much). I realized that social media is scary since there are so many people addicted to something that is actually quite mentally harmful.
The hardest adjustment was blocking Youtube on my laptop. I would love to watch all types of videos like makeup, fashion, comedy, etc.. but it was taking away a lot of time that I could have used for studying, exercising, and reading. It was really hard to stop watching Youtube because I would love binge watching for hours on the weekend and even during the school week. It’s been weeks since I blocked Youtube but it’s still difficult to refrain myself.
Instead, I try to use the time that would’ve been wasted on Youtube to read and exercise. Doing so made me feel like I had much more time during the day and I didn’t have that lingering sense of guilt. Although it’s hard, I recommend everyone to go on a “social media/Youtube detox” because it can help you develop good time management skills and help you mentally as well.
