I took an impromptu break from social media break. I had trouble sleeping. I found my mind racing and ruminating over…. arguments on social media. I found it super interesting what was bothering me. And then I realized people I barely knew were saying things to other people I barely knew. I was reading their comments back and forth and feeling upset. I decided to stay off of social media for a while. I didn’t know how long. Instead, I focused on people I have hugged or seen in person (when not social distancing) for a bit. It ended up working after just a couple of weeks, so I dabbled here and there, reading some social media but avoiding posting. If you find yourself in a similar situation, maybe you want to hit the snooze bar on your social media.
Here are some things to think about if you want to consider your own social media snooze:
- Evaluate what you want and get from social media. I personally enjoy reading a few features regularly on social media. I find inspiration, as well as seeing my own “on this day” on Facebook. I was also taking a class that had a group on Facebook that I wanted to check in on from time to time. I gave myself a few minutes each morning to check in on from time to time. I know of people who get completely off of social media or delete the app off of their phones. That makes total sense for some, and maybe one day I will get there. But….for now….I just wanted to take a break.
- Be curious about your response to the social media fast. Several times a day, I would find myself wanting to click on the apps or even click then immediately close down. Before this fast, I would have told you that I don’t read a lot of social media throughout the day. I think compared to some, that is true, but I would relax and look at cat pictures or elephant pictures (don’t make fun of me), as well as the occasional meme that made me laugh. That is good decompression for me. But I wanted to take a true break, so I avoided even these things.
- Have an ongoing assessment with yourself. I started a week, but then as that week was close to ending, I decided maybe it should be for the month. I wasn’t feeling the calm and peace that I was hoping for in just one week. Some might benefit from just a day or a weekend. Giving myself that second week was pretty much all I needed, but I didn’t know it would be. So that ongoing assessment with myself was key.
- This is your social media fast, do it the way you want to do it. I checked in with a couple of things daily. I allowed myself to post for my future self (I wanted a memory to show up next year). And when I had planned for the month but started feeling better after two weeks, I “dabbled.” I went in and read some things and noticed how I was feeling. I was reading folks that were inspiring or fun for me, but I did so in small spurts.
- Right before jumping back into social media-ing (not a real verb but I am making it one), I quickly evaluated friends or who I was following to see if I need to “clean up” my feed.
There are some things I noticed during my snoozing. Take any of what I said that feels helpful. Forget the rest. It is good to get back into blogging and posting on my social media accounts!
