The Digital Detox

During December I decided to stop using social media for a while. This was a big step for me because I LOVE social media. Adore it. However, I knew it had to be done. There were a number of reasons for this, so I wanted to put them into a blog post incase any of you are thinking of doing the same. I know how funny this sounds, the girl taking the social media break is blogging about it! We all know I’m a writer though, and I feel this is a really important topic to touch on as I have this voice on my platform. Maybe it will help some of you who feel the same. It’s okay to admit that social media makes you feel crap sometimes, if it wasn’t a powerful tool then we wouldn’t all be so dependant on it. So keep on reading to hear why I decided to take a bit of a digital detox 🙂

It was making me feel anxious

I didn’t realise the extent of this impact until I stepped away from it, especially Instagram. I presumed I would really miss it, and while I did miss posting my content, I didn’t miss the endless scrolling and comparison. I have given my mind a chance to unwind and feel more focused on what I’m doing. Also, my sleep improved. This break has made me step away from it more now and I try to be more mindful of how much time I spend scrolling through other people’s lives.

To start doing things for myself

Usually when something good happens to me, like many others, I tend to post it everywhere. So I wanted some time away to enjoy my life for me and to do things that make me feel happy on the inside, not to show them to everyone else on the outside. Got my hair done, got my nails done, was busy heading out and about as normal, and completing loads of writing projects. To be honest, not feeling like I should post this everywhere was heaven, it’s a great sense of self-security and freedom. Just because I’m not posting about my life, it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

I was feeling too caught up in a false world

While social media is great, it can make everyone too accessible and make their lives seem great because they’re only posting the highlights and edited pictures. I wanted some time to come back to reality and appreciate myself more. Sometimes it can be hard to separate social media from reality, but when you move away from it you realise how photos and lives can be so exaggerated online. Remember that everyone has their junk food binge and bad hair days, but not everyone has photoshop skills or personal hair and makeup artists. So while I have you here, don’t ever let Instagram tell you you’re not good enough. You’re perfect just the way you are, and so are all the adventures you’re living, whether they’re filter-coated or real life!

I found it distracting and time consuming

I was spending hours scrolling through random posts and watching the lives of people I don’t even know through a screen. Those precious hours just slip away without even realising it. It was taking up so much time I could be putting towards things that are really beneficial. When it comes to my writing, I feel much more focused and inspired again after the time away. Sometimes you are your biggest inspiration.

Now is all we have! 

If you don’t notice how much social media impacts us, take a break from it and watch the behaviours and patterns of other people who are using it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m completely guilty of this, but when you step away you realise you have the power to take control back. Whether I was watching people taking pictures of meals, scrolling through Facebook in the doctor’s waiting room or boomeranging cocktails for Insta stories, I found it quite scary how very few people are no longer living in the moment, they are capturing it so everyone else can see this moment or they’re watching other people’s moments. I decided to take my power back because now is all we have so the moment should be fully absorbed and enjoyed. I run my social media, it doesn’t run me.

Now, to be honest, I’m still not back on it fully. I don’t have my personal Facebook account on my phone anymore and I like logging in and out of Instagram when needed. It’s just nice to be able to walk away from it and realise nothing changes in your everyday life. Oh, and you don’t need to explain your decisions to anyone, live your life for you. Trust me, try it out. It’s extremely refreshing! Just make sure you’re living your best life and it’s truly making you happy, whether that’s on or off screen.

Fe xx

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