Social Media Sabbatical
On a whim, last January, on the first of the month, sunk into my favorite corner of the couch and nestled with my favored woolly blanket, I settled on a personal challenge. I decided to delete Instagram and Facebook from my phone while contemplating another year of new opportunities and fresh starts. It was a one-month experiment that turned out, I really liked.
In the beginning, using muscle memory, my fingers would robotically unlock my phone with the mindless intent to pointlessly scroll, but the apps were not there. Clearly, these social media apps are engineered to do something to our brains that keep us coming back on rote memory.
As January concluded and I had successfully completed the challenge, I re-downloaded the apps and continued with my life. While the apps were yet again on my phone, I made an internal commitment that I would only spend time on the apps after my kids were in bed for the night. But as the months went on, I noticed myself falling out of that promise and catching myself wasting time on these same apps throughout the day. I would open the app with an actual purpose in mind (find a recipe I had saved) but then forget the goal, and my thumbs would start the senseless scrolling.
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Motherhood has created this macabre ritual in me — I often think, at the end of my life, or what-if scenarios… Or specifically, in this case, At the end of my life will I be glad I spent so much time scrolling, or will I have wished I was more present in the current moment?
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365 days later, in the exact couch corner and same wooly throw, I found myself sitting on the cusp of a new year with another whim. Again, I decided to delete my Instagram and Facebook apps. This time I pushed myself further by adding a second goal to my social media sabbatical — to read 12 books this year. Ardent readers may be chuckling at this number (and they likely are). But with motherhood and work and life, I wanted to set a no-frills, achievable goal, but also enough to keep me encouraged that I can, in fact, read one book per month. I paired these two goals because after last year's sabbatical, I recognized the time wasted scrolling; when I could have been doing more productive things. Personally, reading, riding my spin bike or working on numerous art projects (this year, I am teaching myself punch needle). When I hit delete in January, my intention was to only do this detox for the month, but here I am, mid-February minus the urge to re-download the apps.
Social media undoubtedly has its positives — For me, it was a place for personal connections or even finding delicious recipes. But during this second sabbatical, I am finding that there is probably more bad than good in these spaces, personally.
Currently, I plan to continue this social media sabbatical because I am finding myself more present, which benefits me, my kids, or whomever I am with. No unneeded distractions. Maybe next month or maybe in six months, I'll decide to re-download the apps (with ground rules), and that is okay too. We each have the freedom to change our minds and directions at any time.
Bottom line, round two of the social media sabbatical has made me happier, giving space for my family, for writing, reading, and much more. I treasure that this (ongoing) experiment has permitted my focus to shift toward the significant parts of life. And when I get to the end of my life, I will thank myself (and I am guessing my kids and husband will too).
Oh, and guess how many books I have read so far this year? SIX! I am just six weeks into the year and am already halfway to the annual goal of 12. Wonder how many books I'll read surpassing my goal...