Usually I’m pretty adamant in saying that I do not have an addictive personality. Coffee? I love it, but don’t have to have it. Smoking? Tried it a couple of times and I wasn’t impressed. But checking my phone constantly and lighting up alongside my notifications? Yes, you guess it. I have a social media addiction.

It’s bad. First of all, I check my phone when I wake up in the morning even though the screen blinds my sleep-filled eyes. Then, to say I check it again multiple times during the day is a gross understatement. Finally, I do a nightly scroll before going to sleep. Or at least I used to do all these things.

What Happened to My Social Media Addiction
When I Deleted all My Apps

I’m tired of being addicted to my phone and social media. Not only does it eat up countless hours of your life—and sometimes, your day—it can also have a profound affect on your mental health. Think about it for a second. If you’re constantly looking at perfectly styled, made up and edited photos of beautiful human beings, what’s that going to do for your self esteem?

Sometimes (okay, maybe more than sometimes) I find myself so caught up in admiring and slightly envying these online people that I forget to compliment, love and embrace the fact that I am also a beautiful, intelligent and real woman.

A little while ago I had a mini freak out about the pressures of social media and decided to cut myself off from it cold turkey. I woke up and thought, no online obsession is going to rule my life! I deleted all social media apps from my phone and even went as far as deactivating my Facebook and Instagram accounts.

However, I only lasted a day and a half.

See?! It’s actually really hard. But with big names like Kendall Jenner, Kanye West, Daisy Ridley and Justin Bieber deleting their social media accounts at one point or another too, is detoxing from social media every now and then necessary to live a “normal” life?

I feel like I don’t even know what a normal life is anymore. But I can tell you that I miss the days of not knowing everything about everyone right away. One of the coolest things you can do is maintain your mystery. Nobody—and I mean nobody—needs to see what you’re up to every second of the day.

So far I’ve actually deleted my Snapchat, Pinterest and one of my Tumblr accounts—with no regrets or second thoughts. I just can’t be concerned with keeping up with more than I need to. I’ve made it one of my 2017 resolutions to cut back on my social media addiction and if you’re willing, I recommend you try it too.

My advice? Live in the moment, appreciate the real life people in front of you and remember to love yourself even if your hair is a mess, you don’t have any make-up on and you’ve just binged an entire bag of guacamole/habanero Doritos while watching Key & Peele.