Opinion | How altering social media usage improved my mental health

Kendalyn Hudson, sophomore strategic and corporate communication major

The prolonged isolation due to the pandemic has led to a surge in internet usage. According to a survey administered by Digital Commerce 360, 72% of respondents agreed that their social media usage increased significantly during the pandemic. This increase has inspired the internet to encourage its users to change their habits. Many celebrities and influencers have begun to spread awareness about the detriments of social media. I suppose it got to a point where I had heard this message enough times to make an effort myself.

When I first began decreasing my screen time, the attempt was shallow. I didn't feel the honest need to lower my usage because (I thought) my mental health was stable. I focused on my school work, hung out with friends, exercised sometimes — what else was there to do? 

I thought I was living my life at its highest potential. But in reality, I was surfing on the wave of the bare minimum. What was I doing with my extra time? Quite honestly, I was laying in my messy bed with the blinds shut, scrolling through TikTok for hours. I was comparing myself to beautiful girls and perfect lifestyles I could only ever dream of. Social media is so detrimental, and I had become blind to it. 

I believe a large majority of our social media usage is mindless, because phones provide us with so much comfort and familiarity that it becomes instinctual. It was hard for me to be mindful of this instinct, because the time spent off of my phone felt so awkward and forced. It felt like a mechanical operation built off of time limits and restrictions I had created for myself. I was an addict, constantly resisting the urge to reach for my phone only because I needed something to do with my hands. 

I began journaling this experience in an attempt to find some more motivation to maintain this challenging lifestyle. In the process of reflection, I began to notice my results. While the first few weeks were difficult, I began to feel internally rewarded. The positive emotions I was experiencing on a daily basis began to outweigh the negative ones and this gave me a huge sense of clarity. Things like my quality of sleep, ability to concentrate, motivation to work and confidence in myself improved tremendously. 

Within a few months, I decreased my average weekly screen time by nearly 50%. But this didn’t just take sheer willpower. I had to make some changes on my phone that would, in return, keep me off of it. 

First, I deleted every single app I didn't use daily. This was to prevent that potential mindless app-rotation. Next, I deleted the apps I used too much — like TikTok, Twitter and Facebook. This was by far the most difficult but most effective thing I did throughout this entire process. I allowed myself to keep two social media platforms: Snapchat and Instagram. Of course, even after making this change, I still spent way too much time on social media. But thankfully, I came up with a method to fix that. I logged onto Snapchat and muted about 50% of my stories, then logged onto Instagram and unfollowed over 2,000 people.

Not only did I do this to decrease the time I spent scrolling, but also to ensure I was only absorbing information that my family and closest friends shared. This improved my relationships because I’m now staying more up to date on their lives and spending more time with them face to face. 

Also, after my unfollowing spree, I wasn't constantly comparing myself to unachievable beauty standards and lifestyles from social media influencers, because I had no exposure to them. Since then, my confidence and mental health have improved extremely. My quality of sleep improved, my ability to pay attention increased and I looked at myself in the mirror differently.

I enhanced my quality of life, and all I had to do was put my phone down. I hope you find the inspiration to do the same.