About two weeks ago I began a break from social media. I had no idea how long the break would last, but I knew I needed a break from the daily scrolling. I was going through a stressful time and social media made me feel worse, not better.
I have complicated feelings about social media, and I don’t think I am alone in them. Social media content can be funny, inspiring, informative and thought provoking.
Social media can create connection by staying up-to-date with friends you don’t see, as you get a glimpse into their lives through photos they share. It can bring family together by sharing funny videos with each other.
I’ve made friends on Instagram through my yoga account and am inspired by them. We comment on each other’s post and cheer each other on. I may have never met these folks in person, but I am rooting for them.
Social media can also be lonely. Especially living in Memphis where I don’t have a solid friend group, scrolling social media has made me feel left out and craving friendship in real life. I see friends out together and I feel sad because I want that.
Social media can also make me angry. I see insensitive posts or people who share hate or leave mean comments and it frustrates me. There have been many times when I see a mean or cruel post and then it puts me in a bad mood.
All of these feelings can coexist. There is both good and bad, and I can accept that. What really made me reevaluate my social media usage was how much time I spent on it. To be frank…just way too much time.
I opened the apps in what seems like a compulsive way – opening them without even thinking about it or having a purpose for it. This does not surprise me since the apps are created to keep you on them. When I was anxious, I found myself scrolling on them as a distraction. Then I felt even more anxious when I logged off. It wasn’t a healthy cycle.
I thought taking a break might be really hard, to my surprise, it wasn’t. I didn’t miss scrolling or posting. Sometimes I was curious as to what was going on online, but I didn’t really care. I was relieved to feel this way.
These past two weeks have shown me that I am happier when I spend less time online. I am more present in my daily life. I am less distracted at work. I feel more inspired to do things like blog and write!
So what does all of this mean? I don’t plan on giving up social media entirely. I do enjoy following old friends, seeing baby announcements and people getting married. I love the inspiration I get for my own yoga practice on Instagram. I love posting cute pictures of my dog!
I plan to use social media more purposefully. I unfollowed a ton of accounts. Not because I don’t like those people or their content, because I want to be more purposeful in why I am following them. The less accounts I follow, the less there is to scroll. I am only following accounts I feel like I gain something from.
I plan to post on my yoga Instagram a lot less. I did enjoy sharing my daily practice, but it doesn’t feel right at this time. I posted almost daily because I felt like I was “supposed” to, not because I wanted to. From now on I will only post when it is something I really want to share.
I want to go on social media when I have a purpose. To get style inspiration from a favorite influencer’s posts or to find for new recipes on my favorite food Instagram accounts. I want to use social media with intention, not just to mindlessly scroll.
I want to blog more again. I realize that blogging has become less and less popular, but I enjoy writing, so I will do it for me. I plan to continue to share YouTube videos because I love teaching yoga. I don’t care about growing an account or numbers – it’s just a fun creative outlet for me.
This was a long post, and I feel like I could still say more about social media. But for now, I hope to spend more time engaging in real life than focusing on engagement in my digital life. Subscribe to my blog and YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on new posts and videos!
Thanks for reading.
Morgan