The social media sabbatical I almost didn't return from

How I stayed offline, what I gained, and the digital boundaries I'm testing

Author

Jenay Zhyrov
July 11, 2025

Hi! Thank You For Being Here is a collection of reflective notes on courage, comfort, and the books, films, and music that keep us company. I'm committed to keeping TYFBH free for readers, but donations help make publishing every month sustainable.

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Taking 10 minutes to brush my teeth was a wake-up call for me.

I paused to scroll on my phone mid-brush, minutes flying by, when suddenly I realized I was just standing there, mouth full of foam, ensnared by whatever I was looking at. It’s embarrassing how long the simplest tasks can take now, just because our phone-addicted brains are so easily distracted. 

By spring, I didn’t feel like my mind belonged to me anymore. I was anxious and overstimulated, grappling with career confusion, financial stress (and how it affects all parts of life), and the emotional whiplash of social media.

One second I’d see a friend’s cute photo dump, the next a heartbreaking news story, a relatable meme, an ad, a gorgeous living room, another ad, a person grieving a loss, another celebrating a new job, people arguing with the wall in comment sections, and so on. The mix of funny, devastating, inspiring, and chaotic content was frying my brain and nervous system. 

All the while, I was losing my sense of self and struggling to make decisions. I was constantly absorbing, reacting, and comparing — both in my personal life and in business. I wasn’t thinking for myself anymore or enjoying (what I believe to be) a pretty good life, and I was sick of that.  

So in May, my birthday month, I took a social media sabbatical that lasted five weeks. Someone asked me, “How did you actually will yourself away?” And my answer isn’t a special hack. I think I reached a breaking point and just had enough. I had to be real with myself and subtract what was hurting me.

I pinned a “BRB!” post to my feeds and dipped. I had planned to log out, but instead, I dragged Instagram, Threads, and TikTok into a folder reserved for forgotten apps, like Facebook. I made a promise to myself not to touch them, to salvage my self-control and just not tap. And I kept my promise.  

A few days later, I got my vacation braids done, texted a photo to my mom and a couple of friends, and felt content not sharing it with everyone else. In that first week offline, I noticed how much more time I had. I felt calmer. I could hear and process my thoughts. I was present in my life again.

Sure, I still watched YouTube, checked the news once or twice a day, read newsletters, and skimmed Reddit to look up episode reactions for The Last of Us. But they were intentional choices, and stepping away from social media, even just for a month, felt really good. 

When June arrived, I decided to stay off social media for another week. I wasn’t ready to return. My days were better without it, and I was nervous to disrupt that.

💌 In this letter, I’m sharing how I stayed off social media, what I gained from the break, and some digital boundaries I’m experimenting with now that I’m back online. Plus, some book, movie, and TV recs. 

Thanks so much for sticking around and being here with me.

Always,
Jenay

Notes from a 5-Week Social Media Sabbatical

How did I stay away?

I didn’t use any app-blocking software or devices because I’m trying to manage my attention without relying on a crutch.

Last year, I started small by taking mini social media breaks — like staying offline every Sunday and limiting my time on apps during the week. Keeping my phone in a different room helps the most.

Some weeks, my boundaries were looser than others, but I noticed a pattern: the less I scrolled or posted, the happier I felt. That became my biggest motivator.

One thing worth noting is that for almost three of the five weeks I was on sabbatical, I was traveling in Europe. Wanting to be fully present on that trip was one of the reasons I chose May to take a break.

Filling my days with new places and experiences kept me busy in the best way. I’m glad I can look back on those memories without picturing my face hovering over my phone. It would’ve been a downer to get sucked into scrolling, only to have my mood dampened by some random post. Checking the news to stay informed was my limit.

That said, if I’d been home in my usual routine, I know I would’ve had to be even more intentional about how I spent my time. Having a variety of hobbies really helps with that. It’s hard to be bored when you have interests you enjoy.

What I gained

  • Less emotional whiplash

  • More time to do things I care about

  • Better concentration

  • More focus for client work and job hunting (Yup! You’re girl is trying to find a full-time or part-time writing, content marketing, or influencer marketing job. I need stability asap!)

  • More awareness of the small, everyday things that make life feel rich

  • And some clarity about which connections naturally continued offline — who I stayed in touch with, who reached out, who I missed. It helped me see my relationships more clearly. 

Post-Sabbatical Boundaries

I wasn’t fully back on socials that first week. I posted this, then pulled away again — especially from Threads. Going from zero social media to a tidal wave of everyone’s thoughts was too much, too fast. 

Eventually, I started posting again, mostly to share photos and glimpses of our trip. And now that I’ve posted that content, I’m playing with what feels fun or worthwhile to create (and consume), trying to keep it low-pressure.

It’s been about a month since I returned to Instagram and Threads (I haven’t touched TikTok since April), and lately I’ve noticed myself slipping back into old habits. So, I need to rein things in. 

Here are the boundaries I’m experimenting with:

  • No social media before noon or after 7 pm. I want the mornings and evenings for me and mine only. 

  • One activity at a time. If I’m cooking, cleaning, brushing my teeth, reading, drawing, or whatever the task is, no scrolling. I want to engage in what I’m doing and not take 3x as long to get things done.

  • One screen at a time. If I’m watching a show or movie, my phone stays down, or better yet, in another room. I feel ridiculous double-screening.

  • Resist the urge to Google things immediately. I’ve noticed that when I do, I often get sidetracked by social media or break my “one screen at a time” boundary. So now, I keep a notebook nearby to jot down questions, observations, and other notes to revisit later.

  • Scroll only on desktop within a specific time window. Not once have I been successful with this one yet, but I want to try it out and see how it feels. 

  • Be offline at least once a week. It’s like a rest day, and a nice reset if my screen time starts creeping up again.

Pause, take a deep breath, and sort through your thoughts — whether that’s in a journal, a voice memo, or with someone who’s a good listener.

  1. Does being on social media make you sad, frustrated, jealous, angry, and/or drained?

  2. What could you gain from taking a break?

  3. What’s stopping you?

  4. Does the thing that’s stopping you matter more than your well-being?

  5. Can you log off for at least a couple of days to see how you feel?

📚️ Books

Fahrenheit-182 by Mark Hoppus
This is a story of what happens when an angst-ridden kid who grew up in the desert experiences his parents’ bitter divorce, moves around the country, switches identities from dork to goth to skate punk, and eventually meets his best friend who just so happens to be his musical soulmate.

Read if…you’re a fan of punk rock bands like Blink-182 and/or enjoy memoirs that feel like a buddy telling you the most fun, wild, and dark stories of their life. Hoppus has experienced several one-in-a-million triumphs and tragedies, and as someone who often thinks about the butterfly effect and freak accidents, I loved reading his stories.  

How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price
Award-winning health and science journalist and TED speaker Catherine Price presents a hands-on 30-day digital detox guide to breaking up—and then making up—with your phone. The goal: better mental health, improved screen-life balance, and a long-term relationship with technology that feels good.

Read if…your phone is the first and last thing you look at every day, you are exhausted by the news cycle, your attention span and memory aren’t doing so well, or you never feel like there’s enough time. I read this back in 2020 (the author published an updated version this year), and it helped me during the pandemic when we were all very online. 

I’m currently reading: 


🎥 Film

Perfect Days
Hirayama is content with his simple life cleaning toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Unexpected encounters reveal more of his story in a deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the world around us.

Watch if…you’ve been feeling lost or overwhelmed. It’s a slice-of-life movie that somehow kept my attention through the repetition of Hirayama’s daily routines. There’s a series of shake-ups that feel true to real life, and the final scene of the film will stick with me forever.

Rocky movies (there are six of them)
A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.

Watch if…you enjoy stories about underdogs, rags to riches to rags arcs, or emotional character-driven sports movies. In my opinion, the first two movies are romantic comedies. His love story with Adrian is so tender. It’s also an iconic film series about perseverance and getting back up, even when you’ve been knocked down (in the ring and life). Rocky never gives up! He’s in touch with his feelings and communicates them. And he’s kind, low-key funny, unapologetically himself, and a softie romantic. I wish I had watched these movies sooner.

Other films I absolutely loved recently:

  • Mickey 17: A disposable employee is sent on a human expedition to colonize the ice world Niflheim. After one interaction dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact.

  • Sinners: Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their Mississippi hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.


📺️ TV

School Spirits (season 2)
Maddie is still trapped in the afterlife, and time is running out. Now, she must work together with her friends in the spirit and living worlds to find a way back before it’s too late.

Watch if…you’re intrigued by ghost stories, mystery-solving teens, and an eclectic group of characters from different decades. Season 2 felt darker and more thrilling than the first, with higher stakes and a central tension around morality vs. the greater good. The ghost world expands as well, and I’m curious to see how the crew solves a new life-or-death situation in season 3. 

Other shows I’ve been enjoying:

  • America’s Sweethearts (season 2): Follows the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders from auditions to training camp and the NFL season as they chase their dreams and a coveted spot on the squad.

  • Running Point: A reformed party girl must prove herself as a businesswoman when she’s unexpectedly put in charge of her family’s pro basketball team.

  • The Gilded Age (season 3): Ambition and scandal collide as the Russells take their place at the head of high society, while the van Rhijn household is thrown into chaos in 1880s New York City.


🎧️ Audio

My current go-to for runs and gym workouts is a Rocky training playlist. Whenever I want to give up early, I picture Rocky getting up off the mat — face bloodied, eyes swollen shut — and figure, hey…I can keep going too.

🧘 stretching deeper into a yoga pose
🥮 making pancakes without a box mix
📚 thrifting books for $4 a pop
🍟 eating a crispy fry dipped in mayo-ketchup sauce
🌴 finding a shady spot next to the pool
✂️ not messing up your hair when you trim it yourself

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