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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Conn chapter.

Social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram are two popular social apps that can become very consuming for your average college student. I spent a week without them to focus on midterms and honestly get my head out of a constant state of brain fog. I originally did this with just my sister, but after discussing it with a friend she decided to join as well. Here’s how my detox journey went to try and help me get out of a constant “blah” mood and focus on the things that I needed to get done.

Instagram

Instagram was very simple for me to delete. It was the app that I was able to stay off of the longest because I never found myself down a rabbit hole on Instagram and always felt as if I could live a good life without the app. It was easily known that it would be forever deleted in the future after this experience.

I found that when I had the app it was more so used for daily scrolling through random people I know and never felt fruitful. Deleting the app allowed me to stop going on random social media when I was bored with another social media app.

TikTok

TikTok was the hardest to let go of. However, letting go of it made me slightly more productive than I tend to be. I was able to not get distracted while I focused on homework and studying, I found myself paying attention to what I was reading and listening to without feeling a need to get distracted again.

Remember how I said a friend joined me… well she lasted less than a day. She was on TikTok for less than 24 hours. (Yes, we lack discipline). This goes to show how hard it can be to fully go through with a detox, regardless of how beneficial the results can be.

I did find myself at night, going onto my phone and trying to go open the app just to realize it was not there. By day 4, I thought to myself “I finished the hard exams. I can download this app again.” It was like a craving that wouldn’t quit. So if you ever try a detox, I hope you can do better than my friend and I.

What did I learn from this?

I learned that social media is overwhelming. There is so much media that we consume on a daily that can distract us from our daily lives very easily. I will not say that I live on social media, because I do take breaks from social media often, but for some reason during the school year, it seems a lot harder to let go. Instagram and TikTok are two prominent apps that have dominated the audience of younger people. This makes detoxes from them difficult, but I learned that I can fill my time with other things that I enjoy. I can discover new songs, read more books that I enjoy, and just continue to capture my normal moments. So as difficult as a detox can be, it can be done, and the benefits will make it worth it!

Anyssa McCalla is a double major in Communication and Journalism and in her junior year at UConn. She aspires to pursue a career in the journalism field and eventually go to law school. Anyssa always had a sincere passion in writing and creative writing and storytelling. She loves understanding experiences from other people and telling their stories. She hope to learn from other peers and women and inspire the future of young women growing up and learning themselves. In her free time she works out, explore different places and spend time with friends and family.