Social Media Detox

Leah is taking over Friend’s Edition! WOOOO HOOOO! See what happens when she takes a break from Insta, FB and more. It’s a true social media detox….

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been addicted to social media since the day you realized, “oh! I mean of course I want to see what everyone I know is doing all the time!”. Then I’m sure at one point while participating in this technological networking world, you’ve come to the realization that maybe social media isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

I know, it sounds crazy, suggesting something we dedicate hours of our day to, something we seem to be unable to live without, could be anything but beneficial. I see you shaking your head through the screen. Yes, we all know social media has its downsides, and recently I decided that in a lot of ways, the negatives outweigh the positives.

So, about a week ago I decided, after much debate with myself, to try to go a week without social media. Disclaimer, there’s emphasis on try.

I deactivated both of my Instagram accounts, (main and spam), logged out of Snapchat, deleted the Facebook app, and just ignored twitter (I’m not as addicted to that).

The first day was rough, because not only was it all new, and kind of like quitting something cold turkey, but because I didn’t have plans that day. I had deleted the apps before I went to bed the night before so I could start fresh in the morning, and dove in head first. Or, dove out, I guess would be more appropriate? My thoughts on the day this whole ordeal began went something this:

How hard can it be, I mean it’s just technology, right??

Hmm I wonder what my friends are up to right now…

You know, I have some cute selfies I wanted post… Maybe this is a bad idea… NO DON’T BE A QUITTER!

Okay this is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

WOW I AM BORED.

You. Can. Do. This. Don’t you dare wimp out on the first day.

To be completely honest, day one was really the only time I struggled to that degree.

Every day it got a little bit easier because I realized that the time I had spent on social media was time I could be dedicating to other things that are MUCH more important and productive. I started my summer assignment, made some super healthy meals that I had been wanting to try, and even started journaling.

It may be hard to believe but for a few days I really enjoyed not having the constant Snapchat notifications popping up, and the inescapable feeling of needing to see what everyone is up to every second of the day.

If we’re being completely honest though, the most beneficial part of this social media detox would be not being able to check up on the negative people in my life. Raise your hand if your top stalked person on Instagram is your frenemy, or your BFF who you had a falling out with, or even your ex. There should be a lot of hands going up. It really did make a difference to distance myself from the pull of knowing what’s going on in these people’s lives and made me realize that I SHOULDN’T CARE! No one should!

Now onto how/ why I broke about 5 days in to this “challenge.”  The majority of time in which I was on my social media “detox,” was on my trip to Chicago to visit Mel. I’m going to be completely honest here and say I broke mostly because Trent took such cute pictures (link to his post for details) and I just couldn’t resist sharing them with the world. Yes, that’s lame and I kind of regret getting reeled back in, but for the time I did successfully stay off social media I learned quite a few things about how to manage it and not be overwhelmed by, well… people.

No, it’s not for everyone, and not everyone I know has gotten as sucked in as much as I was, but if you have ever considered giving yourself a little social media detox, go for it. Yes, it’s hard, but not impossible, and I can promise you, it will put things in perspective one way or another. Go for it!

Thanks for reading!

-Leah