5 Things I Didn’t Expect to Happen When I Deleted Social Media

When I deleted social media, it was one of the best things that I did for myself however, there have been side-effects that I wasn’t anticipating.

Earlier this year, I decided to delete my social media apps AFTER I tried to become a content creator. It’s no secret that social media — while it has good intentions — is overwhelming. I’ve noticed that since January (when TikTok was banned for a few hours) there’s been a growing movement to say goodbye to social media. 

While this effort is not new (you can find YouTubers who have been without social media for several years), people (including me) are recognizing the benefits of not doom scrolling everyday.

In my quest to distance myself from apps like TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, I have learned that there are several side-effects to deleting social media that no one talks about. 

You’ll be bored…at first

This one I found surprising. I thought with having more time on my hands, I’d jump right into reading, crocheting, or exercising more but, I didn’t.

And I think I know why.

Social media is designed to give us a “quick fix” of dopamine. Our brains become so addicted to that fix that it only has a tolerance for immediate enjoyment — better known as instant gratification. Hobbies on the other hand are a much longer and involved process. There’s no instant gratification in hobbies. Yes, you may enjoy the process but, it’s the end result that ultimately gives you that gratification. And it’s in that process of doing a hobby that is (at first) boring. There’s no constant dopamine hits or instant gratification. 

You’ll find other ways to stay on social media

This one is relevant if you decide to continue using “search engine social media” like Pinterest, Goodreads, and YouTube. After I deleted social media apps like TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook apps off my phone, I immediately noticed that I was obsessively scrolling Pinterest, Goodreads, and YouTube subconsciously trying to get that rush of dopamine.

But I don’t necessarily think that this is a bad thing. If anything, it acts as a buffer to your brain’s inevitable withdrawal. Features like YouTube Shorts and Goodreads status updates mimic TikTok and Facebook respectfully. This allows your brain to transition — I think — more smoothly. 

Eventually, Shorts won’t give us the same satisfaction as the TikTok FYP and Goodreads’ updates become a little stale. Our brain will take notice and stop defaulting or relying on these platforms. 

Now that I am a few weeks into my journey, I can confidently say that I turn less to these platforms as a source of information.

You’ll look for other ways to disconnect

Next on the chopping block was deleting dating apps. For a while now, I’ve been using Hinge and Tinder to find my special someone but , I have had little luck. I will go into more detail about my views on dating apps and their effect on society in another article. For now, I’ll say that dating apps (ironically) feel so impersonal and minimize people and relationships to swiping left or right. Once I realized this and its impact, I deleted my dating app accounts.

With no more social media or dating apps on my phone, I was inspired to reduce my screen time altogether. I used to heavily rely on Notion for my daily planner, project management, life organizer, etc. Now, I use a Filofax and any relevant inserts to track my calendar, to-do’s, project, travel plans, and doodles. 

Here is the video that inspired me to be social media-free:

You’ll save a lot of money

I was spending A LOT of money while I was on social media because (unsurprisingly) I was being influenced. And I wasn’t just being influenced to buy certain things, I was being influenced to have a certain lifestyle, to travel, to start a business, to start content creation, etc. 

What it came down to is, people I’ve never met were telling me how to spend my money.

I have spent thousands of dollars trying to keep up with the latest trends, gadgets, and lifestyles and ultimately going into debt because of it. 

While I don’t know the exact dollar amount of how much I’ve saved yet (it’s just too soon to tell), I know that I do have more money to save towards other financial goals such as saving for a trip.

You’ll be inspired to improve other areas of your life

The gift that keeps on giving, per se. Once I noticed that I can control my social media habits to make life better, I turned to other ways I can improve. That’s not to say that my journey with social media is over but I have been inspired to improve my physical and mental health, go back to school to pursue my true passion (social work), and start my debt-free journey. 

To be able to have more free time to pursue my goals, dreams, aspirations, and potential has been another unexpected gift from when I deleted social media.

In conclusion…

Deleting the social media apps off of my phone has been one of the best decisions that I have made so far this year.

I strongly encourage everyone reading this blog post to a) watch the video above b) strongly consider removing social media from your phone and c) pursuing that hobby you always wanted to try.

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