I'm not really one for detoxes. I've tried a 3-day juice detox & I lasted about 10 hours. I sort of failed at giving up things for Lent & I went a Catholic grade school - the guilt is no joke. I'm really good at quitting things, unless those things happen to be something I really like. I was recently challenged to do a social media detox for one week. I completed 10 day (I read that days 7 through 10 were the most relaxing). At first, I didn't really know what to do with my phone - it was weird looking at it & not seeing various social media notifications.
My social media detox was enlightening, this is what I learned:
EVERYONE has a book suggestion. It was amazing to me how many people said, "Oh you're giving up social media? You should read this book!" I love reading & I love book suggestions, but why did people think I wouldn't have time to read if I was active on social media? I read a lot regardless of my social media activity. But, nevertheless, I loved the book suggestions & I was surprised at how many people got me & knew what books I would like or what books I needed to read at this point in my life.
Acquaintances still wanted to connect with me. When I posted my goodbye to social media I got direct messages from people who were acquaintances letting me know that they wanted to stay in contact. People started asking me more questions about my personal life, because I wasn't posting anything on social media. In turn, I was also asking more questions of people I came across.
People supported my social media detox. I got a TON of direct messages, likes, & comments supporting my announcement to take a social media detox. When I talked about it in conversation, I was complimented on my strength - which was interesting to me that deactivating Facebook was someone's idea of strength, but I guess that's the world we live in & this detox was a struggle for me.
It's possible to date without social media. Granted, being on Tinder is a fun way to waste some down time, but totally not necessary to date or flirt.
I forgot a friend's birthday! Of course this made me feel like a complete asshole, but without Facebook, I have no clue when most people's birthdays are. This is something I will work on. On the same note, I also forgot about parties. I didn't have Facebook to remind me of those events that I was invited to.
I talked to my friends a lot more! Group chats, text messages, & emails were constantly causing my phone to buzz. I loved it, but I also had an overwhelming amount of guilt if I didn't respond to them right away, which is not good during the work day.
My friends filled my inbox with selfies & I loved it! I know there is a lot of information out there about how people who take a lot of selfies are narcissistic & psychopaths…I'm not really interested in delving into this, but I loved getting those selfies. I loved seeing what my friends looked like each day. In a perfect world, I would get to see them in person each day; since that is not possible, technology has made it possible & I didn't find it narcissistic or psychotic at all. I felt guilty for the asspain they had to go through to save their snapchats & send them to me in a message.
My me-time was very introspective. Without checking social media, my me-time was just that…time to focus on me. This can be both therapeutic & uncomfortable; it definitely took some getting used to.
I was worried about how I would maintain contact with my friend who moved out of the country - we usually talk throughout the day, everyday, on Facebook Messenger. My social media detox forced us to FaceTime more than we normally would (which was nice!), & forced us to email each other more, which meant that we had fewer dumb conversations.
I had a lot more phone conversations, which I found delightful. Phone calls seem like a lost art in this day in age. Granted, it is nice to just text, but then you lose the concept of connecting during a conversation. I liked that my friends would call me on their way home from work, or after a date, or when they were fighting with their roommate & needed to vent. This is a habit I will continue post-detox.
People supported my social media detox. I got a TON of direct messages, likes, & comments supporting my announcement to take a social media detox. When I talked about it in conversation, I was complimented on my strength - which was interesting to me that deactivating Facebook was someone's idea of strength, but I guess that's the world we live in & this detox was a struggle for me.
It's possible to date without social media. Granted, being on Tinder is a fun way to waste some down time, but totally not necessary to date or flirt.
I forgot a friend's birthday! Of course this made me feel like a complete asshole, but without Facebook, I have no clue when most people's birthdays are. This is something I will work on. On the same note, I also forgot about parties. I didn't have Facebook to remind me of those events that I was invited to.
I talked to my friends a lot more! Group chats, text messages, & emails were constantly causing my phone to buzz. I loved it, but I also had an overwhelming amount of guilt if I didn't respond to them right away, which is not good during the work day.
My friends filled my inbox with selfies & I loved it! I know there is a lot of information out there about how people who take a lot of selfies are narcissistic & psychopaths…I'm not really interested in delving into this, but I loved getting those selfies. I loved seeing what my friends looked like each day. In a perfect world, I would get to see them in person each day; since that is not possible, technology has made it possible & I didn't find it narcissistic or psychotic at all. I felt guilty for the asspain they had to go through to save their snapchats & send them to me in a message.
My me-time was very introspective. Without checking social media, my me-time was just that…time to focus on me. This can be both therapeutic & uncomfortable; it definitely took some getting used to.
I was worried about how I would maintain contact with my friend who moved out of the country - we usually talk throughout the day, everyday, on Facebook Messenger. My social media detox forced us to FaceTime more than we normally would (which was nice!), & forced us to email each other more, which meant that we had fewer dumb conversations.
I had a lot more phone conversations, which I found delightful. Phone calls seem like a lost art in this day in age. Granted, it is nice to just text, but then you lose the concept of connecting during a conversation. I liked that my friends would call me on their way home from work, or after a date, or when they were fighting with their roommate & needed to vent. This is a habit I will continue post-detox.
Overall, did I like my social media detox? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes, but not for a longer amount of time. As cleansing as it felt, I also felt like I was a huge burden on my friends. It was nice to talk to them more than I usually would & through different outlets than I normally would, but it also sucked for them having to remember to message me separately since I wasn't on social media. The detox was a nice reminder of how to be a good friend. L
ikes & comments don't make friendships, connections do.
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