fixing my relationship with social media
I am a self-confessed social media addict. I've tried just about every platform out there: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, you name it. I guess it's an obvious consequence of the times we live in, but it's still Bad, you know?
Over the past few years, I've been trying my best to break this habit (or at least keep it under control), and I think I've been making pretty good progress. Here's what I've done so far:
delete my Tumblr account and app
I used to be so aggressively online on Tumblr, especially as a young teen. I cringe a bit thinking about it now, but it did do some good for me back then.
On Tumblr, I learned how to use photoediting apps, some coding languages, and proper Internet etiquette too. I was pretty young, so I'm thankful I found a great group of people to hang out with back then. Nothing crazy or weird, just a bunch of fans talking about our favorite characters and making fan content.
I left Tumblr when my academic workload started getting heavier, and ended up deleting my whole account a few years later. I think it was the first time I ever deleted social media because I realized I didn't want/couldn't afford to spend that much time on it anymore. I did make a new one at some point, but now I don't have the app installed anywhere—it's just so I can keep scrolling if I end up finding some cool writing tips posts or something.
delete the Tiktok app
I don't even know why I installed this in the first place. Videos and that kind of stuff isn't usually my thing—I grew up on Tumblr and Wattpad in the early 2010s, where the most visuals a blog or story usually had were gifs. But somehow, I joined Tiktok, and I got so addicted in my freshman year of college that I knew I had to delete it.
In my case, Tiktok's insistence on you having the app on your phone actually helped me keep it off my phone—whenever my friends sent Tiktoks, opening the page on my phone would just prompt me to download the app, and I'd be so annoyed I'd open it on my laptop instead. And Tiktok is pretty bad on anything other than a phone, so it kept me off, too.
I still have my account so I can be mutuals with my friends on it, but that's pretty much it. I haven't had the app in a few years now, and I plan to never touch it again.
delete my Twitter account(s) and app
Deleting Twitter (well, X, I guess) definitely had the most impact for me. In high school it replaced Facebook as my main social media app, and I spent hours and hours on it. I had so many accounts in so many communities—stantwt, studytwt, all of that stuff. I did meet a bunch of amazing people on it, but ultimately, it had to go.
I deleted most of my accounts before deleting the app, too. My only remaining account now is the private one I use to keep up with my closest friends, and I only log into it on browser every few days or even once a week. I'm not completely off it, but my usage is definitely way better than before.
put app timers on Facebook and Instagram
I can't really delete Facebook, even though I don't use it much anymore. My family, friends, and even my university post updates on it. Every level of my college life, from university to college to major to class, uses it for official announcements and normal everyday things.
As for Instagram, my time on Tiktok ruined my immunity to short vertical videos, so I've fallen straight into the Reels trap. It's honestly kind of embarrassing that I successfully left Tiktok just to end up scrolling through Reels instead...but I know I've done it once, and I can do it again.
I don't like posting on Facebook, so my life archiving goes on this blog and my Instagram account (because sometimes, you just need photos instead of long blog posts). I really want to keep doing that, so I'm not at the point of deleting Instagram yet. But I do know that I need to keep off it, so the best I can do is right now is to put a timer on it.
On my phone, Facebook and Instagram share two hours daily. So if, for example, I max out my time on Instagram, then I can't go on both Instagram and Facebook.
This system works pretty well for me, unless I give in and add more time to the timer. I've been trying my best, but sometimes I'm just too weak, and I give up to the doomscrolling.
less social media in 2025!
I get bored a lot, so I scroll a lot. I know this is a being-on-vacation problem, and I'm going to be back in school soon, so I'm not too worried. But your habits count, so I'm currently trying to replace my reaction to being bored with my actual hobbies or working out. I haven't made a lot of progress on it yet, which is annoying, but I can do it. (If you have any tips, please share!)
I don't think I can completely cut out social media from my life, and I honestly don't want to, anyway. Community is good, and a little scrolling is fun, too. I just have to make sure that it's really only a little scrolling. I think I'll keep Instagram as my main social media app, but this year, I'm going to try harder to enforce my own time limits and divert my attention somewhere better.