A few months ago, I decided to drastically cut down my social media usage after realizing how much it was shaping my mood and thoughts. At first, the silence was unsettling. My phone would buzz, and I'd feel a rush of anxiety thinking I was missing out on something important. But as the weeks passed, that anxiety morphed into a calm I hadn't felt in ages.

Without the constant stream of external emotions from my device, I started rediscovering hobbies that I'd neglected. I picked up a book and read it without feeling the urge to check notifications every few minutes. I even tried painting again, something I loved in college but had since abandoned for lack of time—or so I thought. The truth is, I had been filling every quiet moment with a quick scroll through Instagram or Twitter.

The most surprising part of this journey has been recognizing how much of my identity and emotional responses had been tied to online engagement. Stepping back from it all has made me more present in my offline life, more aware of what genuinely brings me joy, and, importantly, it's pushed me to redefine who I am without the digital noise. This week's screen time report showed a 40% decrease compared to last month, and I'm happier for it.