Social media and I have a love/hate relationship. On the one hand, I love using it to connect with others and am incredibly grateful for the friendships I've formed over the years since I first started blogging. I've loved being able to stay in touch through photos, gaining wisdom and encouragement from others, and having another platform to creatively express myself as well.
Maybe it's the election year or the pandemic or just current events overall, but I've seen shifts in posts and I've just felt a real heaviness and weariness from social media lately. I was actually trying to write up a post for this blog when I realized that I was using social media to mindlessly scroll and "take a break" from life. I'd use it when I got home from work, scrolling through photos and hitting that "like" button. I'd use it the moment I got up in the morning to somehow transition into my daily life and routine. I'd use it again during work breaks, while eating lunch, and then right before bed as well.
I was using it all the time and most of the time, I wasn't even really aware of it. With just a tap on my phone, I was instantly connected to another world. A world of highlight reels and political posts. Posts of celebration and posts of grief. And I never realized that my social media use was anything but a break, in reality, it was just another source of input for more information but from other (and more) people.
So I took a huge step back from social media. I removed both Facebook and Instagram from the first page of apps on my home screen. And I'm just taking a big break from it--for who knows how long.
And it's like a weight's been lifted off my chest. I no longer feel this need to check in with friends and other feeds I follow. I no longer feel this pressure to watch people's stories before they expire (anyone else feel this way before?). And I no longer feel the need to even scroll through it on my breaks, either.
To be honest, I haven't truly figured everything out. I'm not perfect, either. There have been days when I've mindlessly tapped on Instagram and almost started scrolling, further revealing my addiction to it. And there have been moments of boredom or silence when I've wanted to click it just to fill up time.
But I'm reminding myself that new habits require grace.
Lots, and lots of grace.
And I continue on. I've been using that time to listen to more podcasts and music (give me all your faves!) and I've been trying to just be okay with silence and boredom.
Less social media has meant more sleep. More conversations. And way more creativity (aka more time to write blog posts!).
So here's to grace. New--and healthier--habits. And finding rest, peace, and life in stepping back.
No comments
Post a Comment