My Social Media Diet

How I Gained an Extra 15 Hours a Week Without Deleting a Single App

I went into my phone's settings and discovered a horrifying truth: I spent four hours a day on Instagram during my in-office workdays—and a staggering six hours a day during my remote workdays and weekends! Do the math: that's 36 hours a week, almost a whole work week, just scrolling through apps. While I wasn't shocked, I was appalled. What was this endless scrolling serving? How was this rapid-fire assault of emotions rewiring my brain? After realizing I was spending enough time on Instagram each week to learn a new language or read War and Peace twice, I decided to put my social media addiction on a diet—and discovered that portion control isn't just for food anymore.

Earlier this year, my Facebook account was hacked, and try as I might, I could not regain access. I was upset about losing my connected accounts (Instagram, business pages, and Messenger chats) but secretly relieved because Facebook was the platform I disliked most. As time went on, my distance from it became liberating. I was off! Yet, I still found myself doom-scrolling through Instagram for ungodly stretches of time. Something had to change.

My phone lets me set timers for apps or groups of apps in a single day. So, I made a group of all my social media and dating apps and put them on a collective timer of 3-hours daily—one hour less than my usual minimum. I figured I could see how it felt and maybe wean myself down later. It's only been two weeks, but I've discovered some surprising truths about my relationship with these platforms.