So, this summer I did a thing. I deactivated all of my social media platforms for a month because I felt like my life was somewhat falling apart and I needed some space from the online world. Let me tell you, being in a world that is basically run through these apps and shutting yourself off from it all was quite the experience. I had a whirlwind of emotions and feelings, so I thought I would give all of you a little play by play.
First off, I had severe FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
And yes, that definitely is as pathetic as it sounds. When I decided that I wanted some space, all I could think about was what I was going to be missing, if it was going to impact me socially, and what the hell I was going to do with myself when I was bored.
My phone battery was basically always at 100%
The first thing I noticed was that my phone was literally ALWAYS fully charged. I wasn’t spending my day blankly staring at my screen and scrolling through things that I didn’t actually have any interest in.
There wasn’t that urge to look for self-validation.
We all know it’s true. Social media is a huge source of self-validation and instant gratification. There was never any thought about the likes, or the comments, or what other people thought of me and what I was doing. I was taking pictures for me and not thinking about if that picture would be an Instagram success or if I was looking good for myself and not for those selfies.
My social life didn’t actually suck.
You wanna know why? Because I was actually using my phone as a phone, funny concept right? Just because I didn’t have social media didn’t mean that my phone wasn’t utterly useless. CRAZY. Still had friends, still went out, and was still talking to my usual crowd, no suffering there.
I could do whatever I wanted.
Well, within means. I still live at home in the summer, so let’s be real, there are some boundaries. But I could go out and do whatever I wanted without people knowing a play by play of my life, which is kind of nice. There’s a sense of freedom in doing the things that make you happy and not having anyone’s opinions on what you are posting, what you are saying, or the pictures that you took from that night.
The realization of how big a role social media plays.
I found myself seeing friends and them talking about a picture someone posted, or a funny video they saw on Facebook, or how this person broke up with that person. By not having access to the things they were seeing, I kind of realized that I wasn’t really missing out and that my life wasn’t actually affected negatively by not knowing certain things.
I did feel out of the loop.
To be honest, sometimes I did feel like I was missing out, but other times it was a good feeling to know that I was out of the loop. It gave me time to focus on myself, deal with issues in my life, and to just have time for me and have no one else commenting on my decisions!
I eventually cracked.
After a month-long hiatus, I cracked harder than Gretchen Wieners in Mean Girls. But, after all is said and done, it was definitely an eye-opening experience and if you ever want a break from life and everyone around you, I 100% guarantee it is worth it. And if you hate it… well just sign back in and you’re good to go.