I Unplugged From Social Media for 7 Days and Accidentally Found My So


“We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us.”
—Marshall McLuhan, media theorist (1964)

Not gonna lie, I didn’t plan it. It just sort of… happened. One day turned into two, then three, and before I knew it, I realized I hadn't opened Facebook or Instagram in a full week. No stories. No likes. No scrolling my way through everyone else’s curated life. And the wild part? I didn’t miss it. Not even a little.

I work with a lot of younger people—mostly in their twenties and thirties—and even they’re starting to feel it: the burnout from always being “on.” I watched one guy recently delete every social media app off his phone. Said he just wanted to “hear his own thoughts again.” That stuck with me. I’ve seen others get into gardening, hiking, spending real time with their pets, trying to clear their heads and get grounded—without all the noise. And honestly, that endless scroll isn’t just a time suck—it’s a full-on addiction. It’s a constant loop of “Am I enough?” masked as mindless entertainment. Every post becomes a quiet vote for or against your own self-worth. And for what?

Not caring what strangers think is a freedom I didn’t know I was missing. The space in my head got quieter. My energy felt less scattered. I stopped needing that little dopamine ping of someone approving my lunch or vacation photo. And maybe, just maybe, I found a little piece of myself again—the version that doesn’t need to be seen to feel alive.

Try it this weekend. One day. No scroll. No likes. Just you. See what comes up when the noise dies down.