A Month of Digital Detox

On February 2, 2025, I wrote:

I miss the attention span and mental clarity I had when I returned from the Vipassana course. I was thinking about coming again, but first I guess I should try some personal practice, try to battle the outside world outside, not from behind the wall. Even though I try to meditate and practice yoga daily, I still struggle with media consumption and distractions in general. I would like to build some strength in this regard. So I’m setting up these > rules for myself for the next month:

No scrolling on social media or are.na No reading (blogs, books, tweets) No YouTube or movies No music or podcasts No sexual activity Creative activity of any kind is allowed

Starting tomorrow morning, ending on March 10th. Will probably log the process in my diary.

Today, a few days after the end of my media fast, I would like to reflect on this experience. The First Days: Unexpected Ease It was easier in ways I didn’t expect and harder in ways I thought would be manageable. The first days went surprisingly well — I successfully cut almost all “consumable content” and functioned without major difficulties. The positive effects arrived immediately:

• I went to bed earlier
• I woke up earlier
• My screen time decreased significantly
• I had more time for creative activities

Instead of listening to music, I started singing more. Instead of reading, I wrote more. Instead of consuming images and videos, I drew more. I was excited by these changes.

The Dark Realization

Behind this excitement lay a troubling realization… All this time that I suddenly had available, simply because I made a commitment to this fast, was previously filled with… what exactly? Activities that brought me nothing of value. Digital pacifiers for emotional regulation. But these aren’t revelations — I’ve known this for a long time. We all know it. So why do we keep returning? I realized that I consume most content not because I’m genuinely interested in it, but simply because it’s there.

Growing Discernment

Later in the process, when I could more easily distinguish between content I truly wanted to consume versus what I consumed automatically, I allowed myself to read again. I felt I had clearer control over what I let into my mind.

Challenges and Failures

Of course, I wasn’t 100% successful. The most critical moments were days when I experienced stress at work or had to stay up unreasonably late due to approaching deadlines. In these moments, I occasionally gave in and needed a boost through music. Another significant obstacle is the near monopoly social media platforms have over human communication. The simple effort to respond to friends’ messages becomes a challenge of not getting caught in the algorithm cycle. I didn’t always manage to escape. It was frightening to realize the degree of automaticity and muscle memory I’ve developed. Sometimes I noticed my brain creating reasons why I should check something. In some ways, it resembled an addict trying to justify their next dose.

What’s also critical is that I spend most of my workday at a computer, where all the world’s content is just one click away. Sometimes scrolling is part of my job, like when looking for inspiration or resources, making the boundaries even blurrier.

I also noticed that scrolling on social media was partially replaced by scrolling on e-commerce sites or real estate listings. Since I was looking for new shoes during that time, “searching and researching” in this area was allowed, but I felt it was somewhat a substitute for that dopamine hit I was missing.

Looking Forward

Did I manage to establish the peace of mind I wanted to achieve in my initial post?

No. Unfortunately, everyday life is so interwoven with consumption — increasingly aggressive in trying to get under our skin — that even these restrictions didn’t fully protect me from unwanted content and habitual patterns.

What’s next?

I think it’s time to drop Instagram and Facebook for good. Maybe now is a good time with the growing distaste associated with the operators of these platforms. Perhaps now is the time to pull as many people away as possible and try to find a cozier corner of the internet again.