Social Media Detox
It’s been a bit quiet the past month on my various channels. And for good reason. I’ve been reevaluating my social media use. I know in 2022, having a blog and NOT being on Instagram or TikTok is probably not the best course of action, but until I can get a better handle on my social media usage, the blog is it for me. Plus, I feel as though there’s more “juice” behind blog posts, or at least there can be, than an Instagram caption or story. And my blog and social channels aren't my main source of income, so I don't have as much pressure on me to keep them all updated. I like having my blog for more stream of conscious writing and thing I want to talk about including my every day life for me. Plus, my blog will give me a place to work on my writing and photography. Something I'm hoping to get more time to do while I'm taking a break from all that scrolling.
This break came on somewhat suddenly. I had been doing my normal scrolling one night towards the end of August and I came across a TikTok video talking about the most popular birthday months and dates. The next video I scrolled to was the exact same type of video, except different months and dates were listed. I immediately put down my phone and just sat there thinking.
I’ve always known there’s misinformation run a muck all over the internet, but it had never been as blatant as those two back to back videos. A video as harmless as popular birthday months and dates probably doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of misinformation, but I think it was the straw that broke the camels back for me.
I decided that, starting September 1st, I was going to give up social media until January 1st. I was going to stop spending my nights sitting on the couch scrolling TikTok and Instagram and actually DO something with my time. I wanted it to be a multi-fold experiment:
See if my mental state improved: There’s so much “keeping up with the Jones,” sad/scary news, and confusing information on social media. I’m tired of it making me over think
See if I save any money: I’ve been notorious for following influencers and buying the “it” new thing. Whatever it is. Home décor, clothes, shoes. You name it, I was clicking “add to cart” at LEAST once a day. I am hoping that this detox allows me to focus more on shopping local and supporting small businesses. And focusing on my style, not just what the best selling clothing item is.
Be More Present: instead of spending my nights on the couch scrolling, I wanted to spend more time talking to my husband, play with our dog, enjoy our home and the outdoors while the weather is still good
Enjoy more of my hobbies: get back to reading! Practice my calligraphy again. Learn to sew, work on my photography.
Reopen my Etsy shop: Its something I’ve wanted to do all year and just haven’t “found the time” for. I’ve used the excuse that my nightly scrolling is “brainstorming ideas” but in reality, it’s never going to be perfect. So I might as well just START and adjust from there. A lot like what I’m doing with this blog. Adjusting as I go.
It’s been just over a month since I started and I can’t say I’ve missed a whole lot. I deleted Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, and Facebook from my phone and really haven’t been tempted to redownload them. I do still allow myself to read my favorite influencers blogs, but even that doesn't happen as religiously as it once did. I’ve been happily reading both in the morning and at night again and I’ve been working on my hobbies. I can’t say it’s saved me a whole ton of money yet, but there are still 3 more months in the year to determine the success of how all this plays out.
