Social Media Boundaries

This past December I decided to delete all my social media apps off my phone due to the changes in terms they’ve started to roll out. At first the thought of being disconnected from everyone in the digital world made me feel like I was going to be left out. Left out of what? Feeling like I’m part of everyone’s lives that I’m really not a part of? LOL. Looking back it was so silly of me to think that.
I thought it would be too hard not being able to check insta as easily and keep up with my favorite pages, but in reality when I let it go and focused on living in real life, spending time with my family and spending time on my hobbies/being productive, I really didn’t miss it at all. Actually, I loved not feeling bound to looking at my screen every so often to see what’s new. I realized how much time was truly wasted those few minutes I would pick up my phone and scroll through and watch stories. 15, 20, 30 minutes all begin to add up, especially if you’re doing it every hour.

Deleting Social Media gave me freedom
Freedom of time & thought to be honest. The constant collecting of information through posts clutter the mind so much, and you may not even realize it. It was nice not thinking about what everyone was doing all day. I was focused on those near to me, my closest family and friends, and spending time on things that mattered to me because my time wasn’t flying away in mindless scrolling. It really felt like my mind suddenly wasn’t cluttered anymore, there was clarity. Quickly, removing the apps became one of my favorite choices I’ve made. Occasionally I’d check in once or twice a day, sometimes not at all. The difference was, now when I logged in I wasn’t pressing myself to see what everyone was doing, making sure I don’t miss a post.

I read an excellent post by Phylicia Masonheimer about technology boundaries that really inspired me to stick to using social media more responsibly. I found that turning off notifications while keeping the apps on my phone is helpful, but I’m way more tempted to check and see if I’ve gotten any notifications frequently just by knowing the app is on my phone. Personally, I’ve loved completely deleting the apps off my phone, and only redownloading it when I want to post something or check it for the day. This way, I never reach for my phone and if I have a free moment thinking, “well let me just check real quick”.

Don’t get me wrong though. I love being connected to my friends and people I find inspirational through social media (hence why I haven’t full-blown deleted my accounts completely) but trying to keep up with everyone & everything through my phone took away from life happening in front of me. My mind isn’t able to fully focus on my present when it’s looking at everyone else’s constantly. Now, my mind and focus and where it should be. I didn’t know deleting social media would have been so good for me when I made that choice, but I’m glad I did it.