Social Media: A Must or a Bust?

An Experiment with Social Media

Right before Memorial Day, I was feeling a strong tug to disconnect from social media and get “offline” for a while. I felt like I needed it. My body, mind, and soul were simultaneously craving the times I’ve had in my life when social media didn’t exist. Yes, I’m old enough to remember the beauty of analog living. 🙂

Just as that craving was occurring, my phone was acting up, and then my husband accidentally dropped his in the car door and smashed it. Ok there’s my sign!

Soon, we were buying new phones and updating our plans. My new phone came, and I looked at it as a clean slate since I had to sign back into my apps. Instead of going in and getting everything back up and running, I left the slate clean. It felt amazing, yet not. I felt a little naked, but I was ready to go streaking without the usual collection of noise and color.

Life Without Social Media

Physically, I felt great. I definitely noticed a calm over me that I hadn’t experienced in a long time. My body felt lighter, and I focused more on working out, so I felt great.

Mentally, I felt calm, grounded, and more focused on my work. I made a lot of progress on my revisions and edits in my book. I was more task-oriented around the house, and noticed I was more in-tune with what needed done. I didn’t realize how distracting social media is in that regard. I thought I was doing ok with making an effort to keep my phone in the bedroom when I’m with my kids or doing chores around the house, but not having the access to the social media prevents so much of the “picking up and checking the phone” that goes on.

Spiritually, I was more focused on daily devotions and giving myself more quiet time in the morning to get ready for the day. There’s so much noise and stimulation coming from social media. I try to be careful with who I follow in that regard, but right now, it’s more noisy because of everything happening in our world. I think this was a good time to step back and take break because I’ve been immersed in taking in all the information and perspectives on the events that have unfolded since early 2020.

Life With Social Media

When I got back on the socials, I realized how important the boundaries are. Let’s think about it; we can be accessed as much as we allow with this stuff. I remember coming home from school as a kid, and once I was home, I was in my little haven. If the phone rang and I didn’t want to talk, it was a totally different ball game.

Now, sharing your life on these platforms allows so many people to see you and be a part of you. Think about that.

Also, are we sharing ourselves, or an avatar? Are we projecting our reality as is, or something that’s less authentic and more curated? That’s what’s tough because as someone recently said, “We are super human online because we can be spread out everywhere at all times.” Yes, but is this what we really want? Do we want our sacred selves to be on a constant “reel?” (Sorry, that word just worked.)

Real Life vs. Social Media: The Boundaries

Something that I think is pretty obvious is that sometimes people are talking more to people on Facebook and other social media than their own partner, spouse, sibling, or others they live with. Have you ever had a situation where you or someone else shared important news or interesting details of their life on social media before they told loved ones in person?

I think we tend to think of boundaries being with individuals, but when things like this happen, it makes me think of the importance of setting up boundaries with social media. Some examples are:

1. Communicate important things to loved ones before putting them online. Your followers or other family/friends shouldn’t know anything before the most important people in your life.
2. Does everything have to be put on social media? Does it feel better/more meaningful to leave some things as private for you and your loved ones to enjoy?
3. Obviously, there needs to be physical parameters with time and place when it comes to our phones in general, but social media is a big reason we are looking at our phones! Meal times and preparing for sleep (or other things) are two important times of the day that need to happen without our phones.

Wrapping It All Up

After doing this, I have more questions than answers, but I do feel more strongly about being protective of myself and my kids while using these tools. Because yes; these are supposed to be tools! We should utilize them to express ourselves, reach others, build businesses, or showcase talents.

We just can’t let these platforms become destructive to how we view ourselves, other people, and life in general. If you notice feeling negative too often, then you probably need a break from social media.

My suggestion is to do a solid 2-4 weeks without it and see what comes up for you. Have you taken a social media break before? Feel free to share what came of it in the comment section, or reach out with the contact form below.