Addiction, Coping

How to Cope With Social Media Withdrawal Symptoms?

Written By

Jagruti Rehab

Last Updated on: 06 May 2025

The average Indian spends over 2.5 hours daily on social media. Platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube have become more than just tools for communication.

Meet Priya, a 27-year-old Mumbai content creator. Initially, checking Instagram was a part of her work. But eventually, it started eating into her time as well. She'd wake up and immediately refresh her feed, scroll through mindlessly while eating, and get anxious if her phone battery fell below 20%. When she decided to take a break, she felt cranky and out of touch with the world, typical social media withdrawal symptoms.

In this blog, we will explore how to identify social media withdrawal, ways to cope with it, and how centres like Jagruti Rehabilitation offer structured support for healthier digital habits.

How Long Does Social Media Withdrawal Last?

If one stops using social media to overcome the addiction, he bound to withdrawal symptoms, just as seen in breaking any other form of addiction.

There may be a feeling of boredom, anxiety, frustration, and anger. The withdrawal symptoms usually tend to improve within the subsequent weeks and sometimes even for two weeks. However, if such symptoms occur concurrently with other behavioural problems, they may persist longer and need a diagnosis and interventional therapy.

Signs of Internet Addiction

Internet addiction is a compulsive behaviour affecting emotional health, everyday tasks, and physical welfare. One of the earliest warnings is a preoccupation with the internet, thinking of nothing else or feeling elation in anticipation of the next use. Individuals tend to have mood swings like irascibility, tension, or melancholy off the net and use it as an outlet from actual dilemmas.

Behaviorally, people could lose time, overlook critical tasks, or find it hard to reduce screen time even though they are aware of the adverse effects. They might also socially withdraw, opting for online interactions instead of face-to-face conversations, and lie about time spent online. Physically, symptoms are poor sleep, blurry vision, headaches, and neck or wrist pain from extended screen use. Others also gain or lose weight due to a lack of exercise or bad eating habits.

When these symptoms disrupt work, relationships, or personal life, it's a red flag. Identifying these signs early on can aid in seeking timely help, like therapy or digital detox programs. Internet Addiction Disorder is real—and it's treatable with the right help and awareness.

How to Cope With Internet Addiction?

Social media is addictive and triggers certain centres in the brain, which increases the urge to check the phone each time a notification pops up or someone likes your post on Instagram or Facebook. To deal with addiction to the internet, a social media detox won’t suffice.

Here are a few points to cope with internet addiction.

• Turn off app notifications.
• Use apps that monitor your screen time.
• Make use of digital well-being apps.
• Set a ‘cut-off’ time for your phone from 10 pm to 7 am.
• Introspect or think about the reason that you keep checking social media accounts.
• Reward yourself as a positive reinforcement for abstaining from social media use.
• It takes twenty-one days or three weeks to develop a new habit. If you proactively decide to find ways to deal with social media addiction and continue it for three weeks, you will be able to deal with the addiction.
• You can try to engage in a hobby and be productive.

What Is Internet Withdrawal?

Like other forms of addiction, internet withdrawal also causes various behavioural and psychological symptoms which arise from stopping or abstaining from the use of the internet.

These are a few symptoms observed:

• Anxiety
• Mood swings
• Irritability and sadness
• Loneliness and boredom
• Insomnia and other sleep disorders
• Oversleeping
• An increase in appetite
• Depression is also noticed in some cases
• There is often an increase in the urge or temptation to access social media

This withdrawal phase can be difficult to go through, but it is necessary to go through it to avoid the long-term side effects of such an addiction. It is difficult to pass time with a constant urge or craving to access the internet. One must be kind to oneself to pass through it.

Internet Addiction Disorder

When an action takes precedence over other important things and aspects of life, it is an addiction. When such an addiction is to the internet, it is known as an internet addiction disorder. It is classified as an obsessive compulsive disorder or an impulse control disorder. 

It is also known as compulsive computer use, pathological internet use or internet dependence. It affects physical and mental well-being. Such an addiction may be towards online gaming, gambling, shopping, video streaming, etc.

Various symptoms observed are:

1) Emotional:

-Anxiety
-Momentary happiness
-Instability
-Losing track of time
-Tendency to procrastinate
-Isolation and depression

2) Physical:

-Blurring of vision
-Back and neck problems
-Weight gain
-Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Such an addiction often creates a feeling of dependency on devices and the internet. The individual prefers to be alone even when in a crowd or with others and prefers online interactions over in-person ones. Social validation becomes important, and their self-esteem is often determined by the number of likes they get on their social media posts.

Jagruti Rehab Centres in India

Jagruti Rehabilitation Centre is the best mental hospital in Mumbai and is a trusted name which addresses all such addiction disorders. Top-quality medical care is delivered at affordable rates through a personalised approach. Mental well-being is just as important as physical well-being and is an important part of a person’s overall health.

Author

Jagruti Rehabilitation Centre is a leading facility specializing in mental health, dementia, and addiction recovery. The team of psychiatrists, psychologists, and caregivers is committed to empowering individuals on their journey to recovery.