I noticed myself becoming more aware of the time I spend on social media and more conscious of what I post. There was a point in time where I would spend hours just checking my social media accounts—seeing what all my friends were doing and catching up on my favorite bloggers’ posts. While I didn’t see the harm in this at first, it definitely started to take its toll on me. I began noticing a trend on how I would feel after scrolling through different feeds and it wasn’t good: I would feel a little down in the dumps, especially if my mood was already poor. For the longest time I couldn’t find a correlation... until recently.
I have been taking a social media
detox. Over the past few months, I limited the time I allow myself to
spend on social media. This idea came about one night after I spent hours
scrolling through different Instagram feeds and just felt bad about myself. I
felt like because I wasn’t living a glamorous lifestyle like so many of the posts I
was looking at, I was somehow failing. That is when I decided I would take a
break, limit my time online, and hopefully gain a new perspective.
The detox was actually super
helpful. It made me realize how much time I was wasting online. Since I had a
time limit set for myself on the amount of time I allowed myself to be on
social media a day (because let’s face it, in today’s world who could give it
up all together?) I found myself only doing what was most important to me. And
you know what? I felt a lot happier. Sure, this wasn’t the be-all-end-all answer
to finding happiness, but this did something for me.
When I was online, I worked on
bettering my Instagram, trying to get more of a theme going and replying
to comments. Additionally, I promoted my blog and caught up on
some of the groups I belong to on Facebook, such as my true
crime group and one for photography. I was doing the things that I
deemed meaningful and didn’t have time to compare myself to others. I didn’t
have the time to sit on the couch while eating cookies in my pajamas scrolling
mindlessly through someone’s feed of a trip they just took or the glamorous selfie
they just posted. I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself.
Now, I am not by any means trying to
say that social media is a bad thing, because, without it, my blog
wouldn’t really exist and I would not feel nearly as inspired. I think it’s a
great way to gather inspiration and meet new people with different
perspectives. However, I am saying that we cannot compare others’ happiness
to our own. There is always another side to a story and it is
very rare to see someone share something negative happening in their personal
lives—in fact, it feels like some sort of taboo to share uncertainty. For
this reason, it would be normal to feel disconnected from real
life because, in reality, we have worries and fears. Conversely, online we
have fun, happy times for the most part. Likewise, on social
media, you get to curate your life, only sharing the best moments. Who
wants to share something upsetting or a tragic event that happened? I
know I only share the highlights of my life online and I think this is
okay as long as you realize that there is always another side to that story. No
one is perfect and you cannot compare your life to someone’s Instagram feed.
Have any of you had this struggle?
How much time do you give social media? It can be such a useful tool,especially
for me, this blog and connecting with such wonderful people. But, it
can also be something that tugs at your self-esteem. Just remember what you see
isn’t always what is and to keep on doing you!
Molly
Credits//Author: Molly Adamczyk. Photography: Molly Adamczyk Credits Copy Editor: Ashley Adamczyk
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