5 Steps to a Successful Social Media Detox

1. Have a plan.

Decide how long your break will be, but resist the temptation to make it permanent. “Shutting social media out of your life completely is a great way to set up failure to control your social media needs,” says addiction expert Patricia Pike.

2. Write down your reasons.

Think about what you want to achieve with this break. Is it figuring out which platform works best for you? Or do you feel overstimulated?

3. Use technology to your advantage.

Delete the social media platforms you want to avoid from your phone. (If they’re not there, you can’t mindlessly click on them.) And on your desktop, use time-management apps like Anti-social or Selfcontrol to block sites you want to avoid for set periods of time.

4. Enlist help.

If you think you’ll be tempted to log on prematurely, have a partner or a trusted friend change your password for the duration of your detox.

5. Set limits.

When you return to social media, put limits on your usage, says Pike. And give yourself a schedule, says Dr. Brian Primack, director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Research on Media, Technology, and Health. For example, restrict logging on to your coffee break, instead of intermittently all day long.