06 Sep Self-imposed social media hiatus: you won’t believe what happened next!
In short, it was fantastic, and I highly recommend it.
Pro tip: it helped immensely to delete the Facebook and Twitter apps from my phone.
By spending less time on social media, here’s what happened:
- I have WAY more time to do more productive and/or enjoyable things, rather than obsessively stalking the lives of others for fear of missing something, or waiting for other people to “like” what I’m doing so I feel validated. Now my limit is checking in twice a day, and I’m confident that no one out there is disturbed by the delay in my life updates.
- I’m more conscious of appreciating people who are DOING things about issues they care about – not just posting on Facebook (which tends to be an echo chamber) about those issues and feeling righteous. And that appreciation leads me to be more motivated to be socially/politically active myself.
- Most importantly, I’m happier, without wasting energy on the toxic people who pop up in everyone’s news feed. When I think about the crappy people I know (because we all know those people}, I listen to James Altucher and ignore them. It’s hard, and I slip, and I keep trying. Some people suck, and that’s not my fault, but it is my fault if I let those people eat me alive in my head (or waste time looking at their latest Facebook rant).
- And when I’m unhappy, I’m reminded that I’m better off reaching out directly to a real-life friend or reviewing this great checklist, rather than posting my existential despair to 1000+ people I’m loosely connected to and hoping they reassure me that I’m smart, funny, pretty or successful. I am enough of all those things.
I learned that Facebook is great for:
- Staying connected to people I care about, many of whom I don’t see as frequently as I like.
- Hearing about events, both here in the Twin Cities and nationally
- Sharing news about the events and organizations I’m excited about.
- Collecting great recipes and tips on books, movies and travel.
- Seeing adorable animals (of course)
So for now, I’m back in the world of social media, but I’ll use it to enhance my life, not an obstacle to actually living my life. I feel better already.
Links to other Robin blogs: