Every single year, I sit down to write about why I decided to delete social media five years ago. It might seem repetitive, but I do it because that one small decision completely changed the trajectory of my life.
Even now, I constantly get comments on my old videos and posts from people telling me how quitting social media transformed their lives, too. Whether you are fully off the grid or just considering a break, I want to share my journey, the reality of “slipping up,” and how my relationship with technology has evolved.
The Wake-Up Call: Scrolling Away 20% of My Life
Let’s go back five years. I was working at a skatepark—not because I loved skateboarding (I don’t), but because I had absolutely no direction. I was in a complete cloud.
I had realized early into a three-year psychology degree that my future wasn’t in that field. The worst part? I am a deeply ambitious person. Doing nothing with my life was killing me. Every day felt like a failure, and I couldn’t see a way out.
Finally, I gave my life a bit of an audit. I checked my screen time and realized I was sinking around 5 to 6 hours a dayon my phone.
Seeing that number hit me hard. It suddenly made sense why:
- I had dropped almost all of my hobbies.
- I rarely saw my friends.
- I wasn’t exercising.
- My career was completely stalled.
I was literally scrolling away 20% of my existence.
Right then, I decided to delete social media for a year. I didn’t do any research on what to expect; I just figured that, if nothing else, I’d have more time to try and be productive.
The Reality of Withdrawal: From Distraction to Action
The first few weeks were rough. My brain was so conditioned to find quick dopamine hits that I’d constantly reach for my phone, only to find myself mindlessly flicking through old camera roll pictures just to satisfy the urge.
I felt disconnected, lonely, and incredibly uncomfortable. For my entire adult life, I had used my phone as a “connection device.” Without it, I was suddenly forced to confront just how far my reality was from my actual ambitions.
But I learned something crucial about human psychology: When you are confronted with discomfort, your brain forces you to act to ease it.
Before, my ease was a digital distraction. Once that distraction was gone, the only way to fix the discomfort was real-world action:
- When I felt dissatisfied with my career: Instead of scrolling Instagram, I researched new industries and took online courses.
- When I felt lonely: Instead of filling the void with a timeline, I actually met up with a friend.
- When I wanted entertainment: I picked up a book.
- When I had too much energy: Instead of sedating my brain with reels, I went outside and ran.
My brain finally started craving the things that would fix my life, not distract me from it.
Fast Forward 5 Years…
Today, I am the Head of Marketing for my company. I’ve run a marathon, bought a house, play tennis regularly, read about a book a month, and I am a genuinely happier person. I’m not exactly where I want to be yet, but I am so far from where I used to be.
The 2026 Update: The Cracks in the Armor
I’m not going to lie to you: this past year has been incredibly hard, and I slipped up.
In 2025, YouTube Shorts started taking over my screen time. Combined with the absolute dire state of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, I found myself constantly surfing the Spurs subreddit just looking for any sliver of positivity.
I justified it to myself at the time. “I have a 25-minute app limit on YouTube,” I reasoned, “and I’m only looking at one specific subreddit, so it’s not real doom-scrolling.”
But the cracks were showing. I have an addictive personality, which is why I chose total deletion over app limits in the first place. Before I knew it, Reddit was back on my phone and I was constantly pushing past my YouTube timers.
Then came January. Out of pure curiosity to see what old school friends were up to, I reactivated my Instagram.
| The Cycle |
|---|
| 1. Reinstall the app out of curiosity. |
| 2. Doom-scroll for 30 minutes. |
| 3. Feel immense regret and delete the app. |
| Repeat 10 times. |
It felt like I had completely broken the five-year pact I made with myself. I started beating myself up terribly until I realized: this is just how addiction works. If you give these platforms an inch, they take a mile. They are designed to cloud your judgment.
Finding My Way Back
I have to give a massive shoutout to the No Scroll Club Discord community. Seeing their messages and hearing their stories consistently pulled me back to reality. When I hit my 5-year anniversary, I asked the members to share their own journeys. Hearing how they fought through their digital dependencies reconnected me with my own “why” and gave me the push to delete Instagram for good and tighten my app timers.
Addressing the Critics: “But You’re Posting on YouTube?!”
Whenever I talk about this on Reddit or YouTube, people love to weaponize my presence on these platforms to try and discredit my story. “How can you say you deleted social media when you’re literally uploading a video right now?”
It’s a fair question. Here is my answer: Digital minimalism is not a black-and-white concept.
You do not need to practice absolute, monk-like abstinence to get the benefits. My goal was never to avoid social media just for the sake of avoiding it—it was to get my time back.
To me, “deleting social media” is an evolving philosophy. Five years ago, Reddit didn’t interest me; today, it’s a trap if it’s on my phone. Five years ago, YouTube was a net positive for learning Spanish or fixing things; today, YouTube Shorts can easily become a time-suck.
My Current Digital Boundaries
- The 25-Minute Rule: I have a hard 25-minute daily limit for YouTube on my phone, and I do my best to avoid Shorts entirely.
- The Phone Ban: Platforms like Reddit are completely banned from my mobile device. If I check football news, it’s done intentionally on a desktop.
Restrictions make you intentional. If you only have 25 minutes, you use it wisely. Find a technology philosophy that keeps you in the driver’s seat.
Moving Forward (The Creator Dilemma)
If you saw my last post where I tried to make money doing online surveys, you know I made a grand total of about £2 and decided to buy a website domain (this domain!). I’ve been blogging here, and alongside this content creation journey, I want to invest more time into growing this project.
Logically, if I’m making long-form content, I should edit it into shorts and post them to Instagram and TikTok. To ignore those platforms entirely would be limiting the potential of what I’m building.
But how do you post content without falling into the scrolling trap?
The Secret: Content Management Tools.
I plan to use tools like Buffer (Later.com is another great option). These platforms allow you to schedule and publish posts to multiple social networks simultaneously without ever having to download the apps or log into a feed. If you see me pop up on TikTok or Instagram, just know it’s being automated from afar. I’m not on there scrolling.
Additionally, the rise of AI-generated content on feeds has actually made it much easier to stay away. When you realize half of what you’re looking at might be entirely fake, the whole experience begins to feel utterly pointless.
Where to Start If You’re Stuck
If you aren’t sure where your relationship with technology stands, I highly recommend a 30-day digital detox.
Delete the apps entirely for one month. If you need support, join us over at the No Scroll Club Discord to share your journey with like-minded people. I also have a 30-day guided detox PDF available for download to help keep you on track.
Take your life back from the algorithms. Figure out a limit that gives your life a net benefit, step out of the online world, and get back into the driver’s seat.