I have a friend who lives in another country, and every once in awhile they would deactivate their social media accounts for a few months. I would only hear from them via email to assure me that they weren't hurt, or dead. Once they resurfaced they would always tell me how much better they felt. And I used to tell myself that they were so much more self disciplined than I could ever be because I had no idea how they went without being able to "keep in touch" with others. I mean, can you imagine not being able to open up an app that within seconds would be able to show you what everyone else was doing? What they were sharing? Learning about the current news, and happenings in your area (or globally) in mere seconds? I mean, what? Why would you want to give that up?
Well, I now understand some of the reasoning behind my friend's decision. Lately, social media has been a total life suck for me. Draining, depressing, and anxiety inducing. I open up Facebook to see some of the dumbest shit ever. People arguing over Trump, and the Democrats (I mean c'mon already). People name calling, or creating conflict just because someone disagrees with their opinion. A lot of passive aggressive racists remarks. And then some of the most juvenile responses that are supposed to "counter" the hate, but instead just reinforces that old saying --"pot calling the kettle black". Unfortunately, that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's still the friends that want to announce EVERY little detail about their life, and that includes spats. Break ups, and all of the depressing quotes they feel the need to share, HOURLY. Then there's the stuff you know they're going to regret the next day even before you get to the second sentence. For example, I once saw in a series of posts that a friend decided to agree to a threesome (two females, one male), and then shortly afterwards they were pissed because the guy decided to spend more time doing the other chick rather than her. An hour after that proclamation we were all informed that it wasn't the guys fault, it was hers because she was needy, so everything was okay. He was back to being the perfect gentleman in her eyes. Then, we have the days when everything that happens in our small town (as well as the surrounding ones) gets broadcast over the internet in local groups. Sometimes, the stuff that's getting spewed around, or even just debated is really ridiculous. Everyone is already in everyone else's business enough as it is when you live in a small town. Now, we get the play by play in local groups that everyone feels the need to share as well as put in their two cents. It can be extremely annoying. And I wonder how the hell everyone has all of this time to be sharing everything that they do. Then, I realize I'm the idiot that's opening the apps in the first place. Even after I know the feelings I'll get by doing so.
But the most difficult thing for me to admit is how much time out of my day that social media really consumes. I feel like I get sucked into this rabbit hole. I comment on this post, then I click on that link, and that leads me to like someone's photos. And before I know it an hour has passed. An hour I could have used to do something more productive. Or spent with my daughter. Or blogged. OR finally fit in that workout I always complain about not having the time for. You know what I mean? And this little time suck happens several times throughout the day. All of it adds up too. Now, I know some people have no issues with social media. Some of you may even like sharing hourly. And that's cool. You do you, boo! However, I know that all of this causes me stress, annoyance, and anxiety. I even did a little experiment once where I deleted my Facebook, and Twitter apps from my phone for about three weeks. And I noticed that I didn't go online to check it as often. I also didn't automatically roll over first thing in the morning, and check my accounts. This actually improved my mood at the start of my day. Though lets be honest, I'm not approachable until I've had coffee. I also noticed that I didn't spend a lot of time looking at my phone. My headaches weren't coming around as often. And to be honest, sometimes being out of the loop can be good for you. It's a way to reset your battery, if you will. And I felt pretty good during that time. I felt like I had spent enough time "offline" that I could go back to it without getting sucked back into my previous habits. Sadly, that only lasted about a month. Then, down the rabbit hole I went again.
So, I was thinking of taking that previous little experiment a step further. I've been thinking of deactivating/deleting my Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat accounts. Or at the very least removing the apps off of my phone. I'd like to keep my Instagram account active in order to post photos from time to time. Seeing as how I already seldom post on that account I figured it wouldn't be a big deal to keep it. But one thing that I wanted for this new year was to focus more on being in the moment. Sure I'd love to document it through pictures. But maybe not so many, and not to share across all of my accounts. I want to spend more time doing stuff that I like rather than worrying so much about what the rest of the world wants to burn itself to the ground over that week. I also feel like this will help out a lot with my anxiety.
Now, all of this is much easier said than done for me. As I stated earlier, self discipline is so not my strong suit. And I am slightly addicted to my phone. So, whether I'll be able to do this for a week, for a few months, or even just for a day will remain to be seen. It's still one of my goals though. One that I hope I can implement at the end of this month. Have any of you ever done a "social media cleanse"? Anyone ever deactivate their account for awhile, and notice an improvement in their mental health or well being? I'm hoping this is something that I can stick with, so wish me luck! Let's see how long I can last without posting, or sharing something on social media.
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