how to be offline - a guide to stop doomscrolling

If you clicked on this blog, I assume you realised you have a problem with social media, and to be more specific — with doomscrolling on different apps. I am well aware that FriendRewind is also social media, but this is a bit different. Since there is no algorithm, the chances of you staying on for hours is less likely. 

If you know all of this and you just want a guide, well here ya go. I will be using my experience as a reference so some things might not align with your wants and needs.

1. Realize the fact that you are scrolling your life away. I saw this video once and it shook me to my core. We always say that we still have time and we will do this X thing later. But really how much time do we really have? Answer: not a lot. Once you start to think that hey maybe I should start doing some things and not just scroll on my phone.

2. The first step. Since the phone is the first problem, deal with that. I used to put a "child lock" on some apps. I had this app called ScreenZen, free to use, and it would block my apps (and you can't just snooze the blocking btw). I set like 9 sessions, each having 20 minutes for each app— that way i had 3 hours to stay on them. I set it for tiktok and instagram mostly since those were the apps i used a lot. Of course, you can personalise your experience, having as many sessions and as many minutes as you would like. I recommend if you are addicted to the short form content to start a little lighter on yourself and gradually decrease the number of minutes/number of sessions in a day.

3. Find something else to do. So now that you are no longer doomscrolling 7 hours a day, you have a lot of time on your hands. This is the perfect time to start that thing. You know, the thing that you always wanted to do but you said you'll do it later? yup, that one. Or pick up a new hobby like reading, watching movies, studying, painting, learning to play guitar, watching series, even watching 20 minutes youtube videos (or your youtube "watch later" playlist). Just find something that interests you and do it.

4. I know you are gonna do it once and forget about it. I have been there before, I know what it's like to do something once and then to go back to your old habits. That's why I suggest keeping track of things. Have a journal/notebook where you write down the dates of the month and the activities that you would like to do. And keep track. 

I am not the greatest at explaining things and there are definitely some really cool youtube channels that gave me ideas as well as keeping me entertained so lemme give you some recs: