Trapped in Social Media Addiction? Here’s How I Broke Free

I’m discovering some things about myself and my brain since I started breaking free from the social media trap. Call it digital liberation.

I feel soured on consuming social media right now. I’m just not interested if I’m not learning something or clicking content from someone who teaches things.

I’m actively and passively experimenting with shrinking my focus, and my brain likes the results. I’m not as affected by observing other peoples’ lives — which usually leaves me feeling inadequate in some way or many ways. Within the last week, I’ve shrunk the scope of people to focus my interactions with. Nothing dramatic: I’m just not giving as much attention to boredom-texting and phone calls.

Some noticeable benefits:

• I remember the details of conversations better.
• I’m more engaged during conversations.
• I feel overwhelmed less often.
• I feel stressed out less often.
• I get up and move.

I’m just really really not interested in the lives of strangers right now. I can’t put my finger on why exactly, and that’s probably why I’m writing about it. It’s not a problem that needs to be fixed. In fact, I feel pretty awesome about it. It feels like I’m carrying a less figurative weight — at least in my thoughts.