My accidental social media detox

My accidental social media detox – Mrs W

Lifestyle detox, Social Media Ellie Hewes January 25, 2021 0 Comments

Last year I changed my phone and for some reason could not upload Instagram and Facebook onto my new phone. Initially annoyed, I thought to myself I’ll have to look at this when I’ve got a bit more time. Three months went by and I still hadn’t quite found the time to install these apps.

It was the most wonderful break that I didn’t even realise I needed from the constant pressures of social media.

My social media feeds are pretty mundane: I have two young children, I like fitness, I’m a pretty unsuccessful gardener and I quite like baking.

What I hadn’t appreciated is that a social media feed is basically a list of “shoulds”:

I should be growing my own vegetables

I should be playing more educational games with my toddler

I should have a beautiful corner of my house to do yoga (you’re now getting the picture about my incredibly mundane social media feeds!!)

I should be baking every weekend

I should be decorating the lounge

I should be practising my Warrior 2 (Yogis – if you know you know!)

I should learn how to use eyeline properly

I should, should, should, should.

With that gone, if only for three months, the relentless reminders of all that I wasn’t and all that I wasn’t doing had been silenced. And it was lovely.

The definition of “should” is to indicate obligation, duty, or correctness. Social media can be an infinite list of our obligations, a constant reminder of how we don’t measure up.

I have a close circle of friends who are now scattered around the world and without social media we would struggle to stay in touch; so I did eventually reinstall my apps but what I have learnt is this:

I click on the app with a purpose – because I want to reach out to a particular friend

I give myself dedicated time for social media – so I can actually use it to chat to friends

I leave my phone in the kitchen most of the time – so I don’t get notifications when I don’t have time to deal with them.

Social media is fantastic for lots of reasons and so important when we’re in isolation but I would urge you to check in with yourself and your social media habits. Is it truly a positive thing in your life? Can you make tiny changes to make it work better for you?

A short break from social media might be just the thing to reset your own boundaries. And during this time of everything feeling different, maybe now is the time for a reset. I’d love to know how you get on if you try this.