Social Media Detox

There’s no doubt in my mind that social media, when used in moderation, can be a great thing. One can reconnect with old friends and family across the country or around the world. With a few swipes of the thumb, one can get caught up with current events, see photos from a coworker’s vacation, and find a Keto friendly cheesecake recipe.

There’s also no doubt in my mind, so others things when not used in moderation, social media is a horrible thing. A horrible thing that can be very addictive. A habit that can not only really cut into someone’s productivity, but bog down their lives in general and strain relationships in the real world.

With the negative side of social media, it does make sense to take a planned break from it every once in a while. In the past I’ve taken small breaks for a few days to a few weeks, but never a longer duration. But know that the election cycle rhetoric is already reaching critical mass, now seems like the perfect time to “go dark” on social media. So I have.

While the first half of this post was a rough draft, on October 1st, I had already stopped checking Facebook. I didn’t plan on saying anything about me taking a break on Facebook. I was just going to fade to black and then come back sometime after the elections in November.

Then I saw this YouTube video:
The 30 Day Social Media Detox

After watching the video I shared it on Facebook, then deleted the app from my phone. It’s been a few days as I type this and I’m still alive without my social media fix.

It will be interesting to how I react to Facebook again sometime in November. Will I fall back into my habit of checking it way too often? Will I have better control and only scroll through the feed once or twice a day? Or will I spend thirty seconds in it, get overwhelmed by the noise & nonsense and delete the app from my phone? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

However my 30 day social media detox goes, I’d recommend you give it a try too. Remove the app from your phone and web browser. Keep track of how many times you habitually go an click on an app or bookmark that is no longer there throughout the course of your day. See how much more focus you have on the people and tasks that truly matter.