What 8 Weeks Without Social Media Taught Me

Source: Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash

I’m eight weeks into my summer experiment of being off social media, and I’m loving it. At this point, I have absolutely no desire to go back.

And yet, I probably will at some point. I’m an author, after all. I have readers I love to chat to online, books I want to share, and the occasional thought I’d like to put out into the world. There’s also a little voice in my head saying, "But shouldn’t you be on there?" Maybe I should. Maybe I shouldn't. Thankfully, I don’t have to decide today.

For now, I’m enjoying this little experiment and paying attention to what has happened in the space social media left behind. When I wrote the first part of my summer experiment, I was mostly curious about how to stop scrolling. Eight weeks in, I’m more interested in what has taken its place.

So far, there have been three things I didn’t expect.

1. Social media can make us feel connected without actually connecting us.

When I first deleted my social media apps, I missed seeing updates from my favourite writers, horse trainers, and various interesting people I had accumulated in my online world. And then I realised something: I didn’t actually know most of these people.

Meanwhile, having lived in seven countries, I have friends all over the world. Although I already see my local friends regularly, I realised I could be much more proactive about staying connected with the ones who live further away. Without social media giving me the feeling that I was “keeping up” with everyone, I started actually keeping up with the people I care about.

I sent more messages. I organised calls. I had long conversations with friends I hadn’t properly spoken to in far too long. I found myself rekindling friendships that had never disappeared, but had perhaps been sitting on the sidelines of busy life. I wonder whether that is one of the strange things social media does: gives us the feeling of connection without necessarily giving us the connection itself.

Research supports the idea that stepping away can make a difference. A 2022 study found that people who took a one-week break from social media experienced improvements in well-being, depression, and anxiety.

Perhaps it isn’t simply about how connected we are, but about how connected we actually feel. There’s a big difference between seeing someone's holiday photo online and actually hearing their voice when you ask how they really are.

2. There is a little withdrawal, but it passes.

The first few weeks off social media brought two slightly embarrassing habits to my attention. The first was occasionally thinking, "Oh, this would make a nice picture to post." The second was wondering what some of the random people I followed were up to. Both bothered me for slightly different reasons.

I realised I don’t want to experience my life through the imaginary eyes of an audience. I don’t want to see a beautiful sunset and immediately think about how it would look in a story. I want to see the sunset. Sure, I still take photographs. I love capturing memories. But there is something wonderfully different about taking a picture because you want to remember something and taking one because you want other people to see it.

To overcome this, I simply started practising noticing. A beautiful view? Notice it. A lovely smell? Notice it. Something funny? Notice it. I don’t need to do anything with it. I can just let it be mine.

The second habit disappeared more easily. Once I stopped checking social media, I stopped thinking about what these random people were up to. And that was that.

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There’s nothing wrong with following people who inspire you or being curious about other people’s lives. But it made me laugh when I thought about how strange this habit would sound if we could explain it to someone from 15 years ago: "I’m going to spend part of every day following strangers on the internet and keeping up with what they’re doing with their lives."

They might reasonably ask: Why? Honestly, I’m not sure I know anymore.

3. My attention feels different.

At first, I tried to replace social media with other forms of digital nonsense. I read the news. I checked the weather repeatedly. I browsed things I had no intention of buying. Apparently, my brain was perfectly happy to find another rabbit hole. Eventually, I caught myself doing it and managed to stop it. And that’s when I noticed my attention change.

I could sit down with a book and stay with it. I could work on something without feeling the pull to check something else. My mind wandered a lot less, and I felt less compelled to follow every little thought that wandered past. Interestingly, a 2025 study found that blocking mobile internet on smartphones for two weeks improved participants’ sustained attention, mental health, and well-being.

Of course, I’m not claiming that going off social media has magically transformed my attention span. But I do think something happens when fewer things are constantly asking for our attention. There is simply less to check, less to consume, and less to follow. And therefore, perhaps, a little more room to notice what is already here.

I have one more month left of my experiment, although I’m beginning to suspect that one month may turn into two or three. Maybe I’ll eventually return to social media, but with a completely different relationship to it. Maybe I’ll find a way to use it for my work without allowing it to become part of the background noise of my everyday life. I don’t know yet. And, strangely, I’m OK not knowing.

For now, I’m enjoying fewer people to keep up with, fewer things to check, fewer moments to share, and, somehow, more of my own life to live. I’ll let you know what happens next.