Blocking Out the Noise | Finding Yourself Beyond Social Media

A social media detox does not have to mean deleting every app. It can start with two smaller steps: using social media more mindfully, and putting firm limits on how much time you spend on it. In this video, mental resilience coach Janey Brown, founder of Fearce Academy, explains why scrolling can leave you feeling like you are not enough, and shares the boundaries she recommends.

Key takeaways

• Social media has real benefits, including helping you find support.
• It is also designed to make us feel lack, pushing us to compare ourselves with other people's best moments.
• On the app, it's easy to slip into autopilot, and that affects how you feel about yourself.
• Her advice: practice mindfulness while you scroll, and set boundaries, like time limits of maybe an hour a day.

What Janey Brown says

Janey starts by giving social media its due. "Social media has its benefits," she says, pointing out that you may be watching this very video because you're looking for emotional strength. But she is also direct about the downside: it's "designed to make us feel lack." Everyone posts their best self, and we compare ourselves to everyone else's best self.

The tricky part, she explains, is that we already know this. "This is not news. We all know this." Yet once we're on the app, it's easy to forget. It "does something to our brain where we just kind of go on autopilot," and that autopilot quietly shapes how we feel about ourselves.

Her solution has two parts. First, "practice mindfulness when you're using social media." Second, and even bigger, "have a lot of boundaries around it." She suggests time limits, perhaps an hour a day, and sticking to content that supports you. Treat the hour as her personal guideline, not a rule.

Does a social media detox actually help?

Research suggests that cutting back, even without quitting, can make a difference. In one experiment, 143 college students were randomly assigned either to limit Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to 10 minutes per platform per day or to use them as usual for three weeks. The limited-use group showed significant drops in loneliness and depression compared with the control group (Hunt et al., Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology).

Comparison is part of why it matters. In a study of young women, those who spent just 10 minutes browsing their Facebook account reported a more negative mood than those who browsed a neutral website (Fardouly et al., Body Image). That is the feeling of lack Janey describes.

How to start a social media detox

Pick one or two changes and keep them for a week before adding more. Set an app time limit on your phone, move social apps off your home screen, keep your phone out of the bedroom, and unfollow accounts that leave you feeling worse. While you scroll, check in with yourself: how do I feel right now? For practical ideas, see our guide to setting digital boundaries that actually reduce stress and what happens when you unplug from screens and plug into nature.

If social media is affecting your mood, sleep or self-worth in a way that won't lift, talk with a doctor or therapist.

Video transcript

Transcript (lightly edited for reading):

Social media has its benefits. You watching this video right now, looking for emotional strength, can help you find that. But it's also designed to make us feel lack. It's designed to make us want to only put our best self out there and compare ourselves to other people putting their best self out there. And this is not news. We all know this. But somehow, when we're on the app, it's really easy to forget. It does something to our brain where we just kind of go on autopilot, and it impacts how we feel about ourselves. So I would say practice mindfulness when you're using social media. And an even bigger piece of advice is to have a lot of boundaries around it. Have time limits. Only allow yourself maybe an hour a day, and try to stick to content just like this.

Common questions

What does social media detox mean?

It means taking a deliberate break from social media, or cutting back on it, to reset your habits and notice how you feel without it. It can be a full break for a few days or simply stricter daily limits.

What are the benefits of a social media detox?

A detox can free up time and ease the pull to compare yourself with others. Research on limiting use has linked it to lower loneliness and depression over a few weeks.

How much time on social media is healthy?

There is no single number. Janey suggests about an hour a day, and the researchers behind the study above concluded that limiting use to about 30 minutes a day may improve well-being. A good test is how you feel afterward: if you regularly feel worse, it's time to cut back.

About the expert: Janey Brown is a mental resilience coach and the founder of Fearce Academy. She is the author of Fear To Fearce and has a background in psychology education, including 100 hours of trauma studies.

Related: Mindfulness Over Media: Pause the Scroll & Reconnect