I Gave Up Social Media
Original Post Date: September 13, 2023
Giving up may be misleading, but I did distance myself significantly, considering I spend hours on and thinking about social media every day. When my Senior year began, I questioned what type of coursework my professors would assign. Would it be a breeze or would it be challenging? I wasn’t prepared when my Social Media Marketing Professor mentioned a social media cleanse. My head jolted up and I began to question how well this would go. My job and personal projects require me to manage social media accounts and be alert to changing trends. How exactly was I supposed to detox from social media when it's the center of my world?
The day had arrived for the break to begin. As we inched closer to our 12:30 p.m. start time, my anxiety grew about how successful this would be. To my surprise it went better than I thought; dare I say I enjoyed it. More importantly, we need to discuss why I enjoyed it and how I may build this practice into my lifestyle.
Lessons I learned
It’s not as simple as turning on Do Not Disturb.
For the most part, I use Do Not Disturb regularly. More recently, I’ve even set timers on the apps that I know I overuse. When I began my 24 - hr cleanse, I thought I could simply turn my typical timers on. What I didn’t think about was the apps that I don’t see as a waste of time. Let me explain…take Linkedin or Pinterest. LinkedIn is for professional use and I use Pinterest for inspiration and mental breaks. I feel calmer when I use Pinterest, compared to other platforms. I’m less likely to group them with other social media apps because of their qualities. These were both apps that I accidentally opened.I think its interesting that I've made the unconscious connection of negative characteristics to the apps I use daily.
Social Media can be a distraction from intentionality.
I’ve noticed that my innate behavior when I pick up my phone is to open Instagram. I blink and I’m already scrolling. Not necessarily because I wanted to check for something or felt like there was new exciting content, just because it feels normal. I guess I shouldn't question why my screen time is well into the double digits. During my cleanse, I didn’t have the option to. Instead, I had the opportunity to spend more time on platforms like the news app. The content I saw was more enriching than social media content. Finally, when I was down there I decided to just put my phone down. It was a nice have time where there were I wasn't looking at screens, at all/
Social media isn’t allowing us to live in the moment.
I sat through several classes during the break and recognized that I was more engaged. I’ll admit that I can struggle focusing and social media doesn’t always help. Without the distraction, my comprehension was better and I was more active in discussions. Additionally, I recognized that I was more aware of my surroundings during my walks to class. I tuned in to the music I was listening to and the changes in my environment/. Honestly, I think this was the most important observation. It exposed what I miss out on by being consumed by social media.
Future Plans
While I went into this process being apprehensive of the outcome, I now want this to be a practice. My personal and professional involvement with social media can cause quick burnout, but I can regulate it through breaks. I want to add 1 or 2 social media cleanses to my monthly routine. I can’t deny that by default my professional endeavors require heavy usage. These short hiatuses will allow me to reconnect with my intentions and priorities.
At the end of the day, I’m glad that I experienced the cleanse. It gave me a better understanding of how heavily I rely on social media to fill my downtime. Now I realize that remaining grounded requires balancing where I offer my attention. Well, that was my experience with giving up social media...for the day. If you’re wondering how social media may be affecting how you engage or influencing you negatively, consider taking a cleanse.
With love,
Allie
