30 June,2026 09:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Devashish Kamble
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Do not approach it as a lifetime commitment. Start with a thirty-day hiatus. Uninstall the apps completely, not just the notifications. Quitting social media doesn't automatically make your life better. It improves your attention. What you choose to do with that attention is the real work.
Conversations with friends become more meaningful when you don't constantly follow their lives online
I deactivated my main social media account for two reasons. I started getting involved in a lot of political debates and online rants, which yielded nothing productive.
Secondly, I wanted to escape from the echo chambers, repetitive trending songs, and unrelatable lifestyle trends posted by influencers.
Omkar Mhatre, 28, architect and educator
Over time, I slowly realised that I was checking my phone without any real purpose. I'd open Instagram to check stories and suddenly twenty minutes would disappear. I was consuming far more than I was actually connecting with people.
Blesson Samuel, 33, banker
>> While my personal account is disabled, I use an alternate account to share posts and memes with my partner.
>> I followed a rule where anytime someone would ask me about my return, I would delay it by a week. I have been off for a year and half.
Social media debates drain your energy. REPRESENTATION PICS/ISTOCK
>> Since I wasn't engaging in any debates and there was no need to be likeable on the Internet, or maintain a fake online persona.
>> In the initial few weeks, FOMO (fear of missing out) and an urge to reinstall the apps crept in.
>> One can't just uninstall social media; you have to replace it with something. I began having conversations with friends over calls, going for nature trails, and observing things around me.
>> My mind felt much quieter once this phase passed. I didn't wake up wondering what I had missed overnight. I wasn't burdened by hundreds of random opinions, trends and updates in my head.
>> I began to catch up with friends rather than silently watching their life updates on social media. Conversations felt better because I was genuinely listening.
When contemplating whether to log off, it is important to overcome the mental block that your life is connected to the Internet. The Internet is vast, and social media remains a tiny fraction of it.
