Why I broke up with social media
A few years ago, a friend of mine said she was going on a hiatus from Instagram for a month. Every day, while I was checking my feed, watching stories, and hearting up a storm, I would notice her conspicuous absence. I couldn’t figure out how she could possibly stay away.
Fast forward to winter 2022 when, for the millionth time, I found myself scrolling mindlessly – feeling simultaneously antsy, bored, irritated, and artificially soothed – when I looked up at my microwave clock and saw I had just lost an hour. Again.
Not only did this feel bad but it was in total contradiction to how I want to live my life and the work I do to help other people live their best lives. Are we living our best lives when reaching robotically for our phones with every ping of a new notification and scrolling endlessly??? NO.
So, I decided to take a break from checking social media – and like breaking any other addiction, it’s hard. I found myself not knowing what to do with myself when I would normally just reach for my phone and scroll.
I realized a few things that were unintended outcomes of my time spent on social media:
I was catching up with friends less because I felt like I already knew what was up with them from seeing their stories or posts
My energy and mood were consistently lower for long periods of time (not just when scrolling)
I wasn’t spending time doing things I actually loved, and then spent the time I DID have lamenting that I didn’t have time for those things
I did two key things that made it so much easier to break up with the platforms: turning off push notifications on my phone and putting the apps in a folder so I don’t see them on my home screen. Oh sure, we still have the occasional rendezvous while in line at the store or in the bathroom, but we mostly have an amicable split and have gone our separate ways.
What’s it like now that I’m largely free of social media’s death grip on me? Well, I’m:
Calling friends to catch up more often
Reading more
Going for walks while listening to podcasts
Finally watching those things in my Netflix queue that I’ve been ogling for eons
Wandering freely in San Francisco to explore the city
Meeting up with new people and creating new friendships
What would be possible for you if your social media time were invested in your IRL life?
