Signing Off Social Media for Positivity!

I can remember sitting in my childhood room, pondering up the most creative “away message” for my AIM account, oOkellyobellyOo. Quite the username, eh? I thought song lyrics were the most creative and reflective message ever. It’s crazy to think of all of the platforms we’ve tuned in for and for the amount of time we’ve been tuning into each other.

Staying connected through all of the social media platforms can be wonderful. They allow us to stay relevant within so many lives and moments that we’re not apart of. On the other hand, they allow us to stay relevant in the lives and moments we have no business being apart of.

It’s the ugly truth, it is, but this month I decided to pull the plug and disconnect. I’ve disconnected in the past and it’s always helped me but this time around, I think I needed it more than ever. I suffer from some serious FOMO (fear of missing out) and what’s even worst about it is that I have spent countless moments of my life dwelling on the things that I only know about because I saw it on social media. Anyone else?

The weddings, the showers, the babies, the houses, the cars, the worldly travel, and all of the bullsh*t we would only know about if we were actually relevant in those lives and social platforms ceased to exist.

The difference between social-relevant and actual relevancy is that you experience the struggle and the blessings of real life relationships.

Social media isn’t a means to keep folks connected through life events, it’s a means to brag. It’s pages and pages of the Pinterest weddings, extravagant showers, the beautiful homes, the luxury vehicles, the exotic travel destinations, and all of the babies and family smiles imaginable in their most beautiful lighting. Followed by my burning questions– “how in the world are they able to afford all of this?” and “how much vacation do they have a year!?”

So what? Who honestly cares? I found myself caring to the point of tears. Not from one connection’s sharing but twenty. Twenty plus people sharing their most brag worthy moments at once. Over the course of time, sitting at home on another Saturday night, scrolling the glorious lives of people.. I began to really dislike “us” while completely looking past our beauty and purpose.

I don’t surround myself with narcissistic people in actual life so why do I do it on my social media accounts? All of this led me down a rabbit hole and today, 17 days social-sober, I am here, a much better version of myself.

The Positive Effects of Unplugging From My Personal Social Accounts

Productivity. It may seem pretty obvious but I didn’t think I aimlessly scrolled during the day too much. Since ditching the Gram, my productivity at work is another level. I feel focused with the tasks at hand and find that my work is better, cleaner, and reliable.
Genuine Conversations. I didn’t just “sign off”, I deleted my Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat apps. Since, I’ve noticed I chat more with friends because if we want to check-in with one another, we have to actually call or text. I have also noticed the increase in Happy Hour and lunch invitations!
Evening Relaxation. The evenings used to really stress me out. I never had enough time and all the tasks I set out to complete were still waiting for me Friday evening. Now, I find that my evenings are actually “longer” because I’m not aimlessly scrolling or posting for hours. Of course, there’s still 24-hours in a day but since taking back my free time, I have time for chores and TV watching!
Greater activity. I have hit my 10,000 steps 15 days this month (today is the 17th!) and it’s because I have my time back. During the day, I take a walk instead of scrolling while eating lunch and as stated above, I have the time back in my evenings. I’m motivated to be productive and move my body instead of adding pins to my “hiking” or “at home workouts” boards. It’s become “shut up and do it!” instead of dreaming about it.
Feelings of fulfillment and Joy. I feel so much fulfillment from the way we are living our lives and the decisions we are making towards our goals. In turn, this has allowed me to feel pure joy for what we have, who we have it with, and what we have coming in the future. These emotions were a surprise for me. I knew I would feel “aware” but I didn’t expect a high level of gratitude. Every day I find myself admiring our life. We get to wake up and work towards our goals all while healthy, full, and happy. I am so grateful.

While I am only half a month into my social media detox, I have already began fantasizing about an extension and an even longer sabbatical from all of my social media accounts. I’m ready to get back to WJ in January but this time has really allowed me to look deeper into the types of content worth sharing in my posts and stories.

Interested in making a change but not sure where to start? Budget is a primary topic around here and when we began our debt free journey, a lot of emotions came with our change in lifestyle. Rachel Cruze hits the nail perfectly in her book, Love Your Life, Not Theirs. I”m excited to share a few book reviews in 2020 but until then, I highly recommend picking up a copy along with her journal!