Occasional sounds of apartment life were the only noises disrupting the quietness of my first official summer break morning. Oh; and some anonymous whirring from outside somewhere. It was a delightfully slow morning. Face-washing, nail clipping, coffee making (and sipping); toast crunching (and munching); texts sending, emails checking, some pensive reflecting.
It does feel a little strange to be on holidays. After the hustle & bustle of the end of the school year (and what a year it has been!), it certainly takes some getting used to. From a never-ending to-do list and rushed weekday mornings, to a sudden evaporation of deadlines. I now have the freedom to do (or not to do) at my own pace, with a very forgiving schedule.
One of my “reflectings” this morning centred around social media. A few months ago I completely deleted my Facebook and Instagram accounts — not just deactivated, but deleted them. In short, too much of my time was being consumed by curating posts, responding to posts, awaiting comments and “likes”, and brooding over the growing political tension that has slithered its way onto social media platforms.
It’s no surprise to me that I’ve been feeling the itch to get back on it lately; however, my reflections revealed that the benefits to me of not having social media have far outweighed the losses.
If you can relate to my experience, here are ten benefits that I have perceived or experienced from not being on social media.
- I am generally less anxious. Why? I think, for me, it is because I am not constantly bombarded with negativity and politically charged content. I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but that is my initial perception.
- I have fewer opportunities to compare myself (or my life) to other women.
- I am wasting less time scrolling through feeds.
- I think I am more intentional with people and relationships that I want to invest in.
- I am living more in the moment and being more present with people, instead of trying to capture the perfect image or curate the perfect post.
- I am less likely to say something on the internet that I might regret later. It is pretty easy to post my thoughts on social media with little consideration as to how they will be understood by, or how they will impact, others. And more to that point…
- …I have to weigh my words more carefully in my conversations with others.
- I have fewer opportunities to pamper my vanity. I give less attention to criticizing or perfecting my appearance when I’m not posting pictures of myself on the internet.
- I am not getting caught up in useless & fruitless arguments or debates on social media.
- When I hang out with people or have a conversation with someone, we have lots to share and discuss because we have not seen all of each other’s news all over Facebook or Instagram.
Allow me a disclaimer: I am not saying that social media is bad all the time for everyone. It certainly has good functions and can be beneficial. Perhaps you are one of those fortunate few for whom social media is not a vice. I’m married to such a person, and I am so thankful for that!
But maybe you’re like me, and you find it all-to easy to buy into the trends of media — filtering, editing, looking for the ideal moments to capture, pouring over people’s comments and likes, comparing, getting distracted, feeling less-than because your appearance or lifestyle does not match up to someone you follow, experiencing heightened anxiety over political debates and “cancel” culture all over your media feed… and the list could go on.
Can I challenge you: maybe you need a break. This summer, as we (hopefully) start to experience some real reprieve from social and public restrictions, can I encourage you to give yourself a reprieve from social media as well? Consider disconnecting for a while so that you can sink your feet into these precious moments and really connect with the people around you. What do you have to lose?
Or more importantly: what do you have to gain?
songs of stippled stardust 