Social Media Free for A Week

I randomly decided to get off of social media for a week and am sharing the positives, negatives and things I want to implement following a short hiatus.

Here is what I found out…not much happens. At least that is my experience.

I thought that maybe I would have a lot more time on my hands, I would be more present, more at peace, focus on more important things, communicate better…but truthfully, not a ton changed. Below I am breaking down my perspective.

My positive experiences from taking a social media break:

Real time communication: Not seeing what my friends were doing on a daily basis made me reach out and have actual phone conversations (like we did in the early 2000s!). It was great catching up with friends in a different way!
Less shopping: Y’all I had no idea how much social media influences my shopping habit. This week, I did a fraction of online shopping that I normally do.
Caught up on news: At the end of the day, instead of mindlessly scrolling through Instagram…I scrolled through news. I wish I could say that I read a book instead, but nope.
A little bit more present: We went to a Braves game, the boys finished swim team, we had hiking adventures, went out to dinner, baked/cooked delicious things and had fun with friends–all of these things I did not post on social media, and yet they still happened. It was nice to not take videos of simple everyday things and rather live in the moment and experience them without the need to share with the masses.

My negative experiences from taking a social media break:

Connection/communication: The majority of my friends and family live far away, therefore social media simplifies the way I stay up to date on people’s lives. I realize I do a lot of direct messaging in place of text messaging. I missed seeing my friends/family and feeling connected to what they were doing.
Less pictures: Social media makes me take more pictures. I LOVE looking back at pictures, it truly brings joy to my life. This past week, I didn’t take nearly the number of pictures I usually do.
Wanting to share: There were small things that I wanted to share with others throughout the week, be it a sale or helpful tip or question about parenting…but I didn’t have the larger audience to share it with. I realize that I really enjoy sharing tidbits about life with others and missed that.

While nothing monumental happened from taking a social media break, I will say I feel a sense of ease and happiness. Overall, it is nice to be able to take a step away from social media for a bit of time (and know that nothing really changes!).

Things I want to implement:

Time limits: I set limits on my phone for 30 minutes a day for both Instagram and Facebook, in order to stay accountable.
Scheduled time: I am now setting morning and evening times to go on social media. I am taking away the mindless middle of the day, need a moment or a break to scroll through Instagram. It isn’t productive and the “mini breaks” are distracting to life in the present moment.
Focus on community and connection rather than comparison and shopping. This is the biggest thing. I love social media and it is a wonderful tool to stay up to date with friends and family and even make new friends; but it is a slippery slope when I start following people that I don’t know and find myself shopping or wishing for material things that really don’t bring me joy.

If you haven’t taken a break from social media in awhile, I totally recommend it for a nice refresher (even if it isn’t totally life changing!). Here are a few unpublished pictures from my hiatus 🙂