Smart Gen Society Introduces Workbook to Encourage and Support Taking a Short Social Media Pause
Written By Lisa Johnson
We are very excited to announce the release of our new workbook, Unplug: A Seven-Day Social Media Pause for a More Mindful Life. This workbook was written by our Founder and CEO, Amie Konwinski, and is designed to help you take a one week break from social media.
The idea for this workbook came about just over a year ago when Smart Gen Society partnered with Julie Cornell and KETV to conduct a social experiment. We asked a girls club soccer team to take a one week break from social media. The girls agreed to give up TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and other platforms for seven consecutive days. We made sure they had the support they needed and encouraged them to record a daily video journal to document how they were feeling during the break. The first few days were a struggle for most of the girls but, at the end of the week, the results were overwhelmingly positive. They felt less anxious, were way more productive and reported getting better sleep. They also resolved to change the way they used the platforms and their devices going forward.
As Amie listened to the girls gush about how much they got done and how much better they felt after completing the one-week break, she began to formulate the idea for this workbook. She knew she wanted to find a way to encourage and support others to take a healthy pause from social media. The result is a very thoughtful, creative and helpful resource.
“This workbook is a great tool to help any teen or adult realign their relationship with social media,” said Konwinski. In the first half of the workbook, you will explore your feelings and habits around your digital devices and social media. In the second half of the workbook, you will take your pause – designed in a way that works for you. For each of the seven days you will have a guided meditation and other activities to help support you through a weeklong break from your social media habits.
In addition to our experiment with the soccer team, a team of researchers at the University of Bath (UK), studied the mental health effects of a weeklong social media break. The results, published in the May 2022 US journal ‘Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking,’ showed that even just a short seven-day break from social media improved individuals’ overall level of wellbeing, as well as decreased symptoms of anxiety and depression.
We are encouraging families, friend groups, schools, teams and clubs to complete the workbook as a group project and together experience life free from so much digital noise. The workbook is available for $39.99 on our website or by clicking below. All proceeds will go to supporting the mission of Smart Gen Society.
