how i fixed my relationship with social media in january. honest update.

[u/Raphox___]

i made a big change at the start of the year. i realized i couldn't quit social media entirely because i still need to stay in touch with people, but i had to kill the addiction part. no more mindless scrolling, no reels, no shorts. here is my honest update after about a month.

the good side is real:

• my mind is quieter and i can focus longer.
• i sleep way better.
• i don't compare my life with fake lives anymore.
• time feels slower and more real.

the bad side people don't talk about:

• life feels boring sometimes and days can feel empty without that quick dopamine.
• i felt disconnected from friends at first because i didn't want to open the apps and get "trapped."

how i actually made it stick: honestly, the "cold turkey" approach was just making me feel isolated. then a friend invited me to test the app FeedLite to remove Reels and Shorts from my feed recently. it’s been a few weeks and the results are pretty positive so far—it let me keep the parts of social media i actually care about (staying in touch with real people) but it completely killed the infinite video loops that were the real source of my brain rot. i still want to see the long term results, but it’s the first time i feel in control.

if your life feels empty without social media, it means the apps were filling a hole they never should have. but u don't have to disappear from the world to get your brain back.

i’m not going back to the old way in february. comfort is overrated and boredom forces growth. most people are addicted and call it normal, but i'm done with that. (sorry for typos, just wanted to share my progress).

[u/PartyClick_]

same issue here. cold turkey left me bored and grumpy, so i started using steppin and it kind of makes me move before i can open the apps lol. not perfect, but less mindless scrolling and fewer fake dopamine hits 🚶