Social media fasting

Whether it’s minutes, hours or entire evenings, there’s no timesuck quite like your social feeds. We put a WH staffer on a digital diet to find out if there’s more to be gained than a case of FOMO

My name is Polly and I’m a social media addict. You’ll find me flicking between the holy trinity (Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, obvs) before my eyes have even fully opened in the morning; my thumbs move on autopilot when I hear that familiar ping; and a habit of Whatsapping while weeing has seen me lose not one but two iphones to the toilet bowl. But as seems to be the case with a lot of friends I speak to, my social apps have left me feeling anything but sociable. At work, the constant pinging leaves me overwhelmed, as if each notification adds to my to-do list. And when I’m posting, too few ‘likes’ on a pic or no response to a message comes shrouded in a sense of rejection. A recent study* found a strong link between the use of multiple social platforms and feelings of depression and anxiety. So when the idea of digital fasting was floated at WH HQ, I put my phone down and my hand up. The jury’s out on how exactly a social fast should work. ‘Social media has only been around for about 10 years, so there’s no detailed evidence on the impact of leaving it,’ says Matt Keracher, who authored a recent report on the subject for the Royal Society for Public Health. ‘The evidence that exists is anecdotal, but our advice to anyone who feels like it’s having a negative impact on their mental health would be to cut down. If going cold turkey for a week or two appeals, give it a go.’ I agreed to a two-week fast and, to remove all temptation, I deleted all the social apps, including Whatsapp, from my phone. On day one, the struggle is real. Without the comfort blanket of sharing pics and in-jokes on my girlfriends’ group thread, I feel isolated. And I reach for my phone on autopilot, forgetting there’s nothing I actually need to do with it. Happily, after just two days, my habits start to shift a little. I reach for my phone less, and without the constant alerts, I have more headspace to deal with daily reallife tasks. While before I would easily waste my 35-minute commute and my lunchbreak sinking into a social wormhole, that time is now free – and so, as it happens, is my mind. Ten days later, I’m more productive and, dare I say it, sociable. I’ve used my tube journey to read two books in as many weeks; I ask my friends what they’ve been up to without the preface that I already know; and when my boyfriend and I go out together, he agrees to leave his phone at home, too, so our time is spent concentrating on each other. Above all, I’m focusing on my own goals again, instead of ‘liking’ those belonging to other people. I almost don’t want my beloved apps back. As a compromise, I’ve decided only to reinstall Whatsapp, so I’m in the loop with friends’ plans, and Instagram, because, well, #OOTD. But now, one day each week, I leave my phone at home. I’ve found balance, without the need to use the hashtag.