Social Media Cleanse

So, last week I challenged myself to do something I've always wanted to do, but never followed through with because in all honestly, I didn't think I could do it. I made the decision to give up all social media for a week. I will be the first to admit that I am way too invested in social media and I waste a lot of my precious and valuable time scrolling through my newsfeed. While social media can be fun and a way to share with family and friends, I found myself caring way too much about what was going on in other's lives and what people might be saying about mine. After getting frustrated about some negative comments I received, a friend and I were talking about how giving ourselves a break from social media might be good for us. So we agreed to no social media for a week. I'll admit I was not 100% thrilled about it, but the fact that I had any reservations at all confirmed that I needed a break.

I decided to take this time away from social media and treat it almost like a fast. It's great to cut something negative or all-consuming out of your life, but I also wanted to replace the time I spent on social media with something positive and uplifting. It would have been really easy to not get on Facebook, but instead binge watch a series on Netflix or spend hours pinning recipes or DIY projects on Pinterest. I wanted to invest my time in something worth-while, not just replace one bad habit with another. At one point, my mom said, "Wow, you must have a lot of extra time now!" And that actually wasn't the case. It's not like I just sit on the couch for hours going through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter every night, but I am very distracted by social media and give it more time and energy than I would care to admit. It was a challenging week, but so freeing! So here's a look at my observations and feelings during my social media "cleanse", if you will. At the end of it all, I'm really glad I did it and I would challenge anyone else who might tend to get sucked in to all of the posts, comments, likes, newsfeed, etc. mess to also give it a try! After all, there was life before Facebook ;)

Reasons Behind My Decision:

1. Too invested -- in what myself and others posted
2. Wasting my time
3. Letting other people's opinions bother me
4. Being nosy and needing to know what's going on with people
5. Comparison -- feeling like my life didn't live up to what others were posting


First Few Days:

1. Feeling disconnected and cut off from the world -- wanting to know what's going on with everyone
2. Realizing the habit of how often I checked social media without even thinking about it -- I had created such a mindless routine for myself
3. Noticing how often I caught myself thinking about what my "status" would be and what pictures I would post -- social media really was consuming my thoughts
4. I had to be intentional with my time even without social media or else I would automatically resort to time-wasters -- it's easy to fill my time with Netflix, Pinterest, Blogs, etc.
5. Becoming aware that I am not fully focused most of the time  -- I have a need to always be doing something and struggle with just doing one thing at a time
6. Feeling like a detox from an addiction -- sad, I know!
7. I'm not very good at being alone -- social media makes me feel like I'm with others, so I don't have to be "by myself"
8. Why do I need the approval of others to feel good about myself and my life?

Positives of No Social Media:

1. More focused on what I am doing and more present with the people around me
2. More time to do things that matter -- daily devotionals, focused time with my family, paying more attention to my surroundings, thinking about me as opposed to others
3. Not as consumed and thinking about it as much -- more clear and less cluttered thoughts
4. By day 4, I didn't care nearly as much -- the first few days were hard, but then I realized my life still went on even if I didn't know what other people were doing
5. Better at being alone and feeling okay about it
6. Less comparison and being so nosy
7. Connecting with friends through personal conversation instead of relying on social media to know what's going on in their lives
8. Spending more time in prayer and connecting with God with less distractions

On the first day of my social media fast, I read this quote below during my devotional time. It's so funny how God puts things in our path right when you need to hear it most. This quote just rang so true for me. Where am I investing my time? Am I protecting what's really important? Can I learn to prioritize and say no when needed? What's really valuable in my life? It's funny how a week away from social media can teach so many lessons. These lessons are so valuable and I intend on bringing what I learned this week with me moving forward.

"One of the most irreplaceable, valuable things we possess is our time. We cannot go out and buy more time, and yet time it is one of the things we squander most easily. We waste time; we spend time doing things that zap our energy. There's nothing wrong with giving someone or something your time, but I have often been sucked into commitments I should have avoided by thinking - well, it's only a few hours of my time. I forget time is a pearl of great price. My stuff is not holy. My possessions are not my pearls. But the hours I have each day -- these are precious. As my children get older, I realize I do not get these days to do over. When people or things try to demand those pearls from me, sometimes the best thing I can do is refuse. In order to protect the things that mean the most to me, I sometimes have to say no."