Social Media Swaps Challenge

We love social media in small doses, but too much doesn't make us feel good - here's our challenge to swap out the scrolling for grounding practices!

It's the new year, and our only real goal for 2022 is to feel better - something we all deserve. It's easier said than done, but we know one culprit that seems to magically make hours of what should be spent relaxing disappear every night: social media. 
We aren't here to slam social media, of course: we use it every day, and it's what made Giadzy become what it is! It has its benefits in sharing stories from afar, keeping up with loved ones and beyond.
However, we know we're not alone in using social-media-scrolling as a self-soother throughout the day. It becomes a way to shut your brain off from your daily stressors, all while consuming an insane amount of content in a short period of time. It can feel relaxing in the moment, but does it really make you feel better when all is said and done?
While we aren't here to do away with social media, we are resolving to do less of it, and spend more time doing things that actually fulfill us. Whether that means being prolific and getting things done, or just finding rituals that actually relax you, these are our challenges for swapping out social media with some things that might serve you a bit better! 

Easy Mode: Swap out 15 minutes of social media-scrolling for 15 minutes of journaling.

Either open up a word document or get out the pen and paper! Journaling is one of the most grounding activities in mindfulness to get us attuned with ourselves. When we are hit with tons of content from aspirational influencers online, from their opinions to their styles to the new things they just bought, it's easy to get caught up in wanting to be more like them. Journaling combats that feeling - instead of focusing on what other people have and what they're doing, journaling is all about focusing on you! 
Either just start writing and see where it takes you, or start with an easy prompt like "write 10 things you're grateful for and why," "write about how you've grown in the last 5 years," or "write about how you'd describe yourself to a stranger". You might be surprised at how much you can work through in a short amount of time.

A Little Harder: That book you've been meaning to read all this time? Shut off the phone and spend 30 minutes reading it before bed.

Social media scrolling is a barrage of content, and our attention is constantly shifting from one topic to the next. It's not often we actually sit and read one story for a very long time online, and that's why it's so relaxing for us to focus on one topic for an extended period. So 30 minutes before bed, shut the phone off, and pull out that book you've been meaning to read (we all have one!)
The phone is so stimulating that it's scientifically proven to make it harder to sleep at night, from the blue light that suppresses melatonin to the alertness that every new headline makes us feel. Reading a book before bed will ease you into sleep much more gently!

Hard Mode: Instead of watching that next Tik Tok or Reel, turn on a guided meditation or do some yoga.

Youtube is chalk-full of guided meditations and yoga practices, all of which will help us stay grounded in our day to day life. Even if you just spend 10 or 15 minutes switching out some social media time for mindfulness, you'll feel so much more relaxed as a result.

Expert: Learn a screen-free hobby.

If you're anything like us, there's always some hobby you'd love to try if you could only find the time! Turns out, many of us spend that time we just can't seem to find on our self-soothing social media scrolls. You might be surprised at how much time you actually have if you start dedicating some energy into a new creative hobby (even something as easy as doing puzzles or playing board games, or learning new recipes!) when less time is spent on the phone.
 
Ready, set, go!