I made the mistake of deleting social media apps on my phone during one of my midnight decluttering panic attacks – and I’ve accidentally gotten more tasks done at the office for two days than I have in two weeks. Here’s how.
The realization that social media is an addiction never really seemed like such a big deal to me.
Like most people who grew up after the Internet was invented, by the year of 2024 it seemed to me like people have accepted that social media is here to stay for a really long time.
Don’t get me wrong: it’s one of the best tools for people to talk to their family abroad or connect with their friends from different cities.
Being up to date about my favorite sports teams on Reddit and looking at gorgeous art museums on Instagram have been such huge inspirations for me as well, especially while working in tech and personally pursuing art at the same time.
However, I also sometimes used it as an emotional pacifier. One night, while I was watching Youtube videos on my bed after getting home from work (don’t pretend you don’t do this), I noticed that my phone storage was almost getting full.
I had a relatively old-fashioned iPhone SE 2020, and all the stuff from Meta and TikTok were actually eating up so much of my phone storage (which kinda pissed me off).
On impulse, I just deleted them to clear up my phone. Data privacy, blah blah blah, I could make up all kinds of reasons why I did it – but actually it was just because I wanted to feel some sort of control over the amount of storage I had in my hands.
What could go wrong, right?
The next morning, I had to go to the office. I do some type of programming as part of my job in the tech industry, and that day I was encountering a particularly perplexing problem which was stressing me out.
By then, almost like second nature, I reached for my phone to browse Facebook. What I ALSO realized was this: I DIDN’T have Facebook on my phone anymore after that whole stunt I did last night.
Honestly, I regretted deleting those apps so much during that moment. There I was, encountering a challenging code issue, and I COULDN’T do anything about it. Except maybe, walk around, drink some water, I don’t know – ACTUALLY TRY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM?? How daunting.
Since my phone couldn’t do much to calm the wailing child inside of my brain, I decided to put it down on my desk and try to research instead. This was, of course, after walking around and drinking water(don’t forget to hydrate!).
I realized I couldn’t procrastinate myself out of that situation. There wasn’t a choice for me to emotionally pacify myself, because THERE IS NO PACIFIER.
Surprisingly, after a few grueling hours, I came up with a solution and was able to go home feeling pretty good about myself.
Upon realizing that I was subconsciously using social media as an emotional pacifier, I became more mindful about how I used all those apps. This is not to say that using social media is bad – it brings tremendous benefits to humankind.
What matters the most is HOW we use it.
It’s a strange feeling, turning from agitated and bored to focused and mindful. I was only able to go through it because I didn’t have much of a choice during that time.
However, I also realized this: we sometimes have the power to put ourselves in situations that can bring us back to the ground. Maybe our bodies are already trying to do that (like that midnight panic decluttering stunt I had) and we don’t even realize it.
I learned the importance of listening to my own body, dealing with negative emotions in a healthier way, and being more mindful about the things I do. Honestly, I recommend that we all try to digitally declutter at least ONCE in our lives.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll be surprised by what you discover as well.
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