The average person spends around 142 minutes on social media each day.
That’s two hours and twenty two minutes you could be spending doing all the things you love, spending time achieving your goals or spending time on self care!
You know all those things you say you don’t have time to do?
Imagine if you just took one hour out of your day, away from social media, to do any of those things.
You may find yourself wondering what to do instead of spending time on social media, especially if you’re spending a fair chunk of your day scrolling.
It’s okay, you’re not alone and we’ve got you covered.
If you’re needing some inspiration, here are 27 ideas for things you can do instead of spending time on social media, things you can now do in your (newfound) free time:
1 – Have a Conversation
Like, a real conversation. Not through messenger. Call someone, book a lunch date, chat to your neighbour or talk to your husband.
Heck, you could even spend this time talking to your kids.
Without social media, you’re more inclined to have real conversations and real interactions with people.
Not that you can’t connect with someone on social media, but there’s something different between a DM and a conversation.
Conversations allow for connections that make you feel like you’re not alone. Even introverts need conversations from time to time.
2 – Read A Book
Have you started reading a book only to find you never have time to finish it? Cut out some social media time and get back to reading!
Anytime you find yourself picking up your phone to scroll Facebook, replace social media with your book instead!
3 – Go To Your Favorite Cafe and Read a Magazine
Way to mix up self care with cutting back social media time!
Head to your favorite cafe, order a coffee and cake, sit back and read a magazine.
Time alone to recharge is a great way to fill your cup – and don’t touch your phone!
4 – Go For A Walk
Get outside, rejuvenate yourself, enjoy the fresh air and move your body.
Put that phone of yours down and leave it at home, or pop on a podcast and learn something new.
Without social media, you’ll have created a whole lot of new free time that you can use to spend some time taking care of yourself.
Imagine what walking for just 30 minutes every day could do for your health instead of spending time on social media (which we know has been linked to a number of mental health issues).
5 – Spend Time Playing With Your Kids
Got kids? Spend this time playing games, board games, reading books, wrestling around or running around outside!
If you don’t have kids, borrow someone else’s (like your nieces and nephews, not in a weird way), or get out and play with your dog.
Your kids will absolutely love spending this time with you, and you can even create a list of what to do in your free time together.
6 – Exercise
Research shows that just 30 minutes of exercise each day can boost over overall health and wellness, so why not use your screen free time to get your heart and body happy by moving!!
You could even be countering the negative mental health effects that social media can have, with new positive mental health effects from exercise! What a way to fight back and reclaim your time without social media!
7 – Prep Your Meals For The Week
One of the biggest reasons people say they don’t meal prep is because they don’t have the time. Imagine the amount of free time you’ll have for things to do instead of social media scrolling?
Instead of spending your Sunday afternoon reading through social media, why not prep your meals for the week?
In two hours you can get your meals ready for a whole week!
8 – Get A Massage
Convinced that your social media scroll is relaxing?
There’s a ton of things that are far more relaxing and allow you to rest, drop your cortisol, and detach from the world. A massage would be one of the best things you could do!
Switch off from the world, fill your cup and relax with a beautiful massage.
Or, use the time to connect with your spouse and give each other massages! Bonus!
9 – Journal
Journalling has been shown to reduce stress and lower cortisol levels (the stress hormone) as well as a ton of other health benefits (plus it’s fun).
It’s a pretty simple practice that anyone can do. Grab yourself a beautiful notebook or a journal prompt printable and get writing.
Don’t overthink it too much. Instead of putting your thoughts on social media, write them down in your journal. You don’t have to edit yourself, you don’t have to try to adhere to anyone else’s expectations. This is all for you.
10 – Write a Gratitude List
Start your day with gratitude (or finish the day with it) and write out a list of things you’re grateful for. It’s a fantastic way to boost your mood and centre yourself, lower anxiety and help keep a positive mindset.
You may even find you’re now grateful for your time without social media, and for the newly found hobbies to replace social media that you’ve been able to take up!
It’s quite incredible what life looks like without all that scrolling.
11 – Spend Time In Silence
Introverts rejoice! Have you ever noticed how noisy our world is? There’s always something making noice somewhere.
Take some time out to spend a few moments in silence. You can use this time to meditate if you’d prefer, or just simply sit in silence.
It’s interesting how difficult this can be to start! But keep persevering. You might find that you need a guided mediation to start to keep your mind from wandering.
12 – Dance To Music
Dancing to your favorite songs can boost your mood and increase your energy levels super fast. Plus dancing around (like no one is watching) feels good!
Instead of your mid afternoon Facebook scroll when you’re feeling tired and in a slump, pop on your fave song and get moving!
13 – Have a Nap
So many people are sleep deprived and could go with a power nap (plus, who doesn’t love a good daytime snooze??).
A 15 minute nap can be incredibly rejuvenating and perk you up for the rest of the day.
It’s even been shown that a power nap can help boost your memory, prevents stress and increases creativity!
Alternatively, you could go to bed earlier!
Rather than spending your time scrolling before bed, read a book, or switch everything off and get more sleep.
14 – Pay It Forward With A Random Act Of Kindness
Do you know how good it feels to do something nice for someone else? A random act of kindness is selfless act you do that makes someone else smile, makes their day better or benefits them in some way.
These can be so much fun, they don’t have to cost anything and can make you feel so good. And it’s fun coming up with ideas of things to do too!
15 – Write a Letter
When was the last time you hand wrote a letter to anyone?
Write a love letter, or write a thank you note. Then pop it in the post (yes, with an envelope and a stamp) and send it! What a surprise that will be for the recipient.
You could even write letters to your future self and keep them for a certain date in the future. Or write letters to your kids! There’s something so special about a handwritten letter.
16 – Clean Out Your Emails
A cluttered email inbox can be so stressful and lead to feeling frazzled.
Instead work towards inbox zero and clear out old emails that don’t need to be actioned, have already been actioned, or are just talking up space.
Create folders for organization, create automated responses if you need to, and unsubscribe from mailing lists you don’t want to be on anymore.
17 – Learn How To Do Something You’ve Always Wanted To Do
Always wanted to learn how to dance, or take language classes, or learn a craft?
You could use just one hour out of your social media time each week to take a class and learn something you’ve always wanted to do!
If you’re looking for things to do in your free time, there are plenty of hobbies to replace social media that you can take up and love!
If going to a class isn’t really your thing, you can check out YouTube (not considered a social media platform) in order to find out how to do just about anything!
18 – Learn How To Cook a New Recipe
The internet is filled with amazing recipes of delicious food that you can learn how to cook!
Check out Pinterest and save some dishes you’d like to try out and give them a go!
Instead of scrolling through social media, cook yourself a master course of food instead!
You could even dress up, set the dinner table, cut some fresh flowers and light some candles, and give yourself a real luxury experience of dining for yourself.
19 – Prepare A Meal For Someone In Need
If cooking is your thing, then cook a meal for someone you know who could use a helping hand.
A friend who is feeling overwhelmed and busy, a family member going through a rough time, or someone you don’t even know.
Giving food and preparing a meal for someone is such a kind gesture.
20 – Visit an Animal Shelter
Animals at shelters are often so cuddly and love the attention because they just don’t get enough of it, regardless of how good the shelter is.
Get your furry fix by visiting or volunteering at an animal shelter and share the love.
21 – People Watch
Have you ever just sat and watched people go by? People watching is such an interesting thing to do and can provide hours of entertainment.
Set up at a busy cafe and watch the world pass by. Airports, train stations and parks are also great places to sit and watch people.
People watching is almost like the old school version of social media scrolling, instead of reading about other peoples lives online, you get to watch how people interact in real life.
22 – Organize Your Photos
Do you have thousands of photos on your computer, stored in hundreds of different folders?
Or is your cloud account almost maxed out with photos (a lot of them being so blurry you can’t tel what they are? ).
Clear out and organize your photos! You can even create cute little photo books to put on display so you can see your photos whenever you want!
23 – Map Out Your Goals
Have you created goals for yourself? Goals give you something to focus on and work towards.
Whether they’re life goals, career goals, financial goals or just personal achievement goals – map them out, create an action plan and go get ’em!!
24 – Get a Side Hustle
Around half of all millennials have side hustles, so why not jump on the bandwagon yourself?
You can use the money you earn to pay off your debt faster, save for a holiday or build up your savings account.
You never know, your side hustle could take off and become your full-time job, giving you financial freedom and you can work from anywhere in the world!
25 – Find Things To Sell Online
Don’t just declutter your home, find things you can sell online and make some extra cash in the process.
Decluttering has it’s benefits, in that it can make you feel less stressed and help you on your way to living a more minimal and simple lifestyle.
But you can also make some serious cash by selling your unwanted items too.
26 – Catch Up On Your Favorite TV Shows
This might just seem like your switching one screen for another, but catching up on your favorite TV shows is very different to mindlessly scrolling social media.
Grab your comfy pants and some popcorn and chill out, relax and watch Netflix!
27 – Go On A Date
When was your last date night?
Head out with your love and catch a movie, go to dinner or play a round of putt putt golf (or any other great date night ideas you have in mind).
Be sure to not check your social media while you’re out too.
The world doesn’t need to know you’re on a date, but you need to be present in the moment.
There’s a whole lot of ideas there for things you can do to fill your time instead of spending almost two and a half hours every day on social media.
Maybe you spend more and really need to cut back? Give any of these ideas above a go instead.
(This post was updated on the 25th July, 2021).