I've been 100% off social media for almost two weeks now and at this point I am truly thinking I may never go back. Personally, I'm an all-in or all-out person (much to the chagrin of my father but I am who I am) it's hard for me to tow a middle line with anything in life. I tend to walk a black and white line on a lot of matters.
I'm not really sure how to go grey in the world of social media, especially when it comes to business. There are so many things I know are valuable to share, but wouldn't they be as valuable sharing through a weekly newsletter or a blog post? There are the algorithms and peak post times and the right hashtags and the most popular reel sounds or songs and the shadow bannings if you share opinions that are "controversial"... it's all exhausting.
I find the absence of social media to create a type of silence in my life I love. You find out who really cares about you as a human (not just as a personality or presence) when someone has to reach out and text/call you to reach you and you find yourself working harder to keep connections yourself with those that aren't as connected to the world of the internet... aging parents, grandparents, friends. Real life - the life that matters on the day to day, exists outside of the confines of your phone. It exists outside of the filters and the swipe ups... not that I don't love those features, but...
Two weeks without being bombarded with fear focused news, angry Instagram/Facebook/Tweets/reshares/reposts have given me a chance to breathe. To remember these things are not my reality. It's so easy to get swept up into the chaos, but it's a choice. Even if your own personal life is chaotic or sorrowful, the added stress from the outside world's voices is a choice. You don't have to add it into your life. What do we truly miss out on? Someone else's highlight reel? Someone else's doom and gloom attitude? A hopeless outlook on life?
Life is a lot more quiet. It's less stressful. Only the pertinent things matter - those who want to stay connected stay connected. It's not a fault of anyone for not - it just is what it is. Social media has created a type of complacency within human relationships. We send social media invites and wedding and pregnancy announcements. "Oh, didn't you get my Facebook invite?" We've been groomed to accept this as normal when it's far from it.
Call me old fashioned or out of touch, but I'll take the hand written notes, snail mail invites, texts (phone calls only if you're bleeding, please) over the flashed social media world any day.
Over the last two weeks, I've read almost 5 books (so close to hitting my goal of 50 before the end of the year!), written lots of snail mail, had uninterrupted evenings with Babes, not worried about the latest Reel I needed to do, not spent 75% of my phone time working Instagram or Facebook, been 100% less stressed or filled with anxiety, not felt pressured to post pictures of my outfit/workout/food/life. I've just been ME.
At the end of your life, what really matters? Your followers? Your likes? Do the people who comment on your pictures really care about you? Do the things and people you really care about know? Or, are they taking a backseat to a world that doesn't really count?
xoxo,
patty lauren