Last year I decided that I wanted to completely get rid of my social media. Initially, I thought that this would be a new years resolution but I was eager to make a change in my life. Right before Thanksgiving, I decided that I wanted to say “goodbye” to social media for good. Here’s how my life changed after a year of saying “goodbye” to endless scrolling.
- My body image changed for the better
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One of the biggest reasons for me giving up social media is because I had a negative body image. I didn’t see anyone with my body type on social media. Women would have my bust, my butt, and my thighs but would ~miraculously~ not have my tummy thanks to their “workout routine/teas they’d try to sell” and definitely not because of plastic surgery/removing a rib/waist training. The “slim thick” trend and “Instagram face” honestly made me wonder why I was so horrendously ugly. Now I realize that although I might not look like an Instagram model it doesn’t automatically mean that I’m monstrous. It just means that I’m different and while scrolling on social media I forgot that was okay.
- I feel weirdly irrelevant
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I’m always the last one to hear about anything. Tictok trends, celebrity gossip, and world events are usually lost on me until I see something on the news. Likewise, nobody hears about anything I’m doing until I talk to them. At first, it was jarring because I felt like I was missing out on a huge part of the world. But, I realized that living a quiet life wasn’t awful. In fact, it was peaceful knowing that I could filter information and seek it as I pleased. I realized that I didn’t need to know everything about the world and that the world didn’t need to know everything about me.
- I realized the difference between vanity and self-confidence
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I would see people post on social media and feel jealous because their life was perfect. Once I gave up my social media I realized that nobody’s life is perfect. A lot of people including myself would post pictures of themselves, their boyfriends, and other aspects of their life to gain validation. Once I took away the instant gratification I realized that I was building up my vanity and not my self-confidence. Vanity is always hungry but confidence is a more satisfactory pursuit. My self-confidence has gone up when I realized that I only had myself to impress.
- I understand myself a lot better now
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One part of social media that I hated (and still hate) is that everyone has an opinion on everything. How to wear your eyeliner. What clothing style is ugly. Who you should or shouldn’t follow for whatever petty reasons. What’s cool and what isn’t. When I left social media I realized that it was stupid to care what other people thought. As I’m not hurting anyone or supporting someone who is hurting someone who cares what I do?
- Reactions to social media is silly to me now
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There are so many things that people do to get followers but I think that the worst is clout chasing. Clout is stupid. I said it. Why would someone intentionally villainize themselves to get imaginary validation? I honestly don’t get why followers mean so much to people.
Leaving social media is one of the best choices of my life. I love that I’m able to live a quiet but content life.