In an era where even schoolchildren are glued to smartphones, making reels or watching YouTube, a recent video has shown JEE toppers using basic keypad phones. In the clip, the toppers revealed they are not
active on social media.
“I think we should spend a month like this at least to achieve our goals,” the post captioned.
I honestly think we should spend a month like this at least to achieve our goals 🙂 pic.twitter.com/XS2gk3FIJy
— Gabbar (@GabbbarSingh) February 21, 2026
Supporting this view, Dr Datta, an AIIMS radiologist, said social media can be a major distraction when pursuing larger life goals. “When you need to focus, it is worth doing away with social media at least temporarily. It is always worth it,” he said.
Doctor Shares His Personal Experience
Recalling his own experience, Dr Datta shared a personal story from January 2020. “My then-girlfriend, from Puducherry, called me half-drunk to break up with me. I had moved to Delhi less than a month earlier to prepare for the AIIMS PG entrance after securing a modest 13,000 rank in December’s NEET PG.”
He shared that he decided to remove all distractions from his life to focus completely on preparing for the AIIMS PG entrance exams. “Blocked my ex, uninstalled WhatsApp and Chrome, and spent five months without participating in any social media or WhatsApp groups.
January 2020: My girlfriend (now ex) called me from Puducherry, half drunk, to break up with me. I had shifted less than a month back to Delhi to prepare for AIIMS PG entrance after getting a meagre 13k rank in December's NEET PG.
I still remember sitting on my desk – thinking… https://t.co/dg2lWrgc2B
— Dr. Datta M.D. (Radiology) M.B.B.S.
After staying away from social media, Dr Datta revealed that he secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 15 in all entrance exams. After that, he reinstalled all his apps and social media profiles.
As people often say, when you are not on social media, you lose friends, become less connected to people, and your life changes. To this, he replied that he didn’t lose any of his friends, but his life did change after that.
“Did I lose my college friends? No. Did my life change because of those 5 months? Absolutely yes!” he wrote.
He revealed that even today he follows a similar method when tackling complex problems. He temporarily removes all apps from his phone and stays offline for the weekend. “I remove all apps from my phone and go MIA for the weekend,” he wrote.
During this time, he says he downloads and prints out all the relevant papers to study them carefully and look for patterns that can be applied in medicine. “After I have decided on a direction, get back on social media,” he concluded.
How Did The Internet React?
The post quickly caught attention, and the comment section was filled with people sharing their personal experiences, many of whom agreed with Dr Datta’s post.
One commented, “This legit works even when you are a working professional. Had a goal of completing a list of certifications last year. I stopped using mobile phones after 9 pm to study. Worked like a charm, cleared a very difficult set of certifications within a year, all in their first attempt.”
This legit works even when you are a working professional. Had a goal of completing a list of certifications last year. I stopped using mobile phones after 9 pm to study. Worked like a charm, cleared a very difficult set of certifications within a year, all in their first attemp
— The_OK_Man (@The_OK_Man) February 21, 2026
“Even passive scrolling affects cognitive memory; short reels are very dangerous, and one might lose the ability to focus,” wrote another.
Even passive scrolling affects cognitive memory; short reels are very dangerous, and one might lose the ability to focus.
— dont_fuck_wdcats
Teenagers often tell themselves just five more minutes but end up spending much longer online. Even adults also lose track of time while scrolling. Social media itself has become a serious global problem.
