May 16, 2021
5 Things I Learned While Giving Up Social Media for a Month
I was a social media addict. I would spend hours scrolling through my Facebook and Instagram feeds. I was hooked on the dopamine rush that came from seeing posts from friends and family members. It felt good to feel connected to people in this way- even if it wasn’t real life contact.
When we offer ourselves up as digital babble in the hopes of validation, it becomes a waiting game for everyone. But what does our thirst for social media feed really say about us? We’ve all been guilty at some point or another when scrolling through Facebook to feel like the only one who doesn’t have anything going on that day. Social Media can make it seem like other peoples’ lives are perfect (or WORSE) than ours and that others spend every waking moment doing exciting things. Here are the 5 things I learned and it’s a refreshing reminder that there’s actually life outside of your phone and people don’t need constant praise online to fill their day.
1. I had a lot more time to do things that were important to me
I learned that there are just as many creative people without social media as with it. I use to think for a moment after publishing something and be like, “Who’s that reaching?!” but now when I post things on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook my friends ask me where they can see it too. It might sound silly to say you have no followers because of quitting social media entirely but…you don’t have ANY trolls either! Major bonus point right here.
2. I was less stressed and felt like my anxiety levels dropped
I’m a huge social media junkie, I’ve barely missed a day of it in over a year. In fact, it honestly feels like I’m glued to my phone on the go each day. However, things were a lot calmer for me on the days that I gave it up for a few days. My stress levels went down, I was less worried about what other people thought about me.
3. My relationships with people in real life improved because I wasn’t constantly looking at their social media posts
It happened. I gave up Facebook for a month. The idea behind this experiment was simple: take a break from Facebook, set aside one Sunday in each month for just social-media-free time, and see how my life feels without being bombarded by notifications and the constant stream of information. The experiment was a success. Long-term, long-shot or not, the results speak for themselves: my friendship with certain people improved significantly, and in ways that I wasn’t expecting.
4. It helped me focus on what’s really important in life, not just the superficial stuff
There is nothing as important as your social media presence… except for maybe getting into shape, making new friends, or catching up with old friends. If you think any of those things are more important than your social media presence and getting a grip on your life, then I have some bad news for you. You need to get a grip on what’s really important in life, because it isn’t going to change anytime soon. It’s only going to get better from here on out and if you want that to be true, then it better be sooner rather than later.
5. It made me realize how much of my day is spent scrolling through social media feeds without even realizing it
You can never get anything done without social media. It’s something that we take for granted and we don’t quite realize how much of our days is spent staring at a screen. But it doesn’t have to be this way. If you find yourself tossing Facebook and Instagram posts aside to concentrate on what’s important, you’re not alone.. After spending a month sifting through the spammy and irrelevant content found on these sites, I realised there’s a lot that we could be gaining from getting out of the “feed.” Also,I had some pretty interesting insights into where we could be improving in order to be more productive.
Conclusion
I learned that social media is not good for me. It’s time to take a break from it in order to live my life more fully. Social media has become an addiction for many people and we are all at risk of being sucked into the black hole of mindless scrolling if we aren’t careful. The next step on this journey will be taking back control over our lives by developing better habits, but first, it’s important to recognize how much power these platforms have over us just so we can make informed decisions about what needs fixing or adjusting when things get tough (or too easy). What did you learn while giving up social media?
