Goodbye (for now), Miss Social Media

Social media has always been a bit of a touchy subject due to the fact that it has a wide variety of uses – some being good and some not so good. Personally, I have always been a fan of social media despite the negative effects and implications it can have if not used properly. I think social media is a great way to connect with people, to advertise and support small businesses, and to generate a level of unmatched artistry and creativity. It can help motivate others through personal journeys, provide unlimited access to cooking recipes from around the world, and provide a boat load of cute and funny animal content. However, I believe it is important to learn how to use social media in a way that drives you and empowers you, while also learning to avoid the toxic side of it. I believe this skill is something that I have (mostly) mastered. Despite this, I am choosing to say ‘good-bye’ to social media (for now).

Now as I said, I fully support the use of social media. But if you’re like me, your social media usage (and electronic usage in general) has probably skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic hit back in March. Given that I am currently about three-quarters of the way through my fall semester at university, it is no longer helping me pass my time in a particularly useful way. I managed to stay focused for the first half of the semester, but I am finding it hard to push through the second half. Managing online classes and keeping myself on-schedule and motivated has not been easy. I found I began to fall into a habit of using social media to completely check out and distract myself from stress or other things that may be weighing on my mind. So I have decided it is time to take a break and look at reshaping some of my social media habits.

When I made the decision to break from social media for a month back in June, I found it to be beneficial in many ways. By temporarily removing myself from social media, I wasn’t able to mentally check out and distract myself as easily, and it gave me the opportunity to better navigate and address whatever I have been trying to avoid. I also made a habit of journaling at least every other day to try and discover how I was actually feeling and why. I found this month to be one of the best that I had for personal growth, but I regret not following through on some of my new habits when returning to social media. Now that I find myself distracted again (and not in a good way), it seems like the perfect opportunity to work through another period of self growth before 2020 comes to an end.

The hardest part of reshaping social media habits, in my experience, is not removing yourself from social media, but healthy returning to it after. It is so easy to fall down the scrolling hole while trying to ‘catch up’ on everything you may have missed out on, and can be hard to avoid the toxic side of social media when you’re not used to putting up those mental blockers almost every day. Although taking a much needed break from social media is healthy, it may not benefit you in the long run if you are unable to continue to reshape your social media usage when you return.

So with that, I am saying ‘good-bye’ to Miss Social Media and ‘see you after exams!’

• health
• lifestyle
• mental health
• social media