25 learnings: life after short-form social media
"Most importantly, I don't miss it..."
Hey fellow human,
It’s been about three months since I decided to take a 6-month break from short-form social media apps including Instagram and TikTok. Here is a list of my learnings from the half-way point:
My life is chaotic and fast-paced enough without being plugged into everyone else’s chaotic and fast-paced lives 24/7.
My attention isn’t as f***ed as I thought it was.
Online social connection is an important part of my social life but I don’t need that connection via short-form platforms.
The FOMO goes away pretty quickly.
I have more time than I think I do when I’m not stuck in the scrolling vortex.
I generally feel less angry.
Social media makes me overstimulated.
The little moments in life are more enjoyable without worrying how other people will perceive them.
There are micro-moments of day-altering connection missed when looking down at my phone.
My posture is better when my head isn’t titled down at a screen for multiple hours a day like a dinosaur.
I’m not as important as I think I am.
There’s relief in having fewer people to compare myself to.
I feel less of a need to categorise and explain myself.
I like being more able to choose to pay attention to things that matter to me.
I’m happier when I check in with my family and myself before anyone else in the morning.
I’m not used to talking on the phone anymore.
Life feels like less of a race.
I’ve done enough developing for the moment - just being me, as I am, is okay.
I don’t owe anyone access to my internal world.
I like being bored.
With less distractions I can do deep work on projects I care about.
I like how it feels to be a whole person without feeling pressure to carve myself up into digestible chunks.
I feel more connected to the world and the people in it.
I enjoy focusing on myself less.
Most importantly: I genuinely don’t miss it - like, at all.
And, no, this short-form social media break does not mean I am now a ‘better’ human than I was before. Nor that I am morally superior to anybody else. I literally just prefer my life right now (this might change), and I think that has a little bit to do with me not being online as much. As much being the operative phrase because, well, here I am chatting with you via a social media platform on the internet ;).
If you’re taking a break from social media, I’ve love to read about what life offline is teaching you?
Sending you heaps of love,
Charlie xoxo
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it's been about three months off socials for me as well and i clearly don't need to tell you how great it is!! honestly i think the thing that's been most noticeable for me is that i feel less bad...like that sounds so basic but i didn't realize how many emotions and how much stress/anxiety was caught up in scrolling and being on those short form apps. i know a lot less about what's happening in people's lives but i've been calling my friends more and reading so much and i can just tell that i feel Different. i thought i would spend more time missing it or wishing i could go on there but honestly unless one of my friends brings up a post i haven't seen, i just forget it exists. which is such a step in the right direction!!
My FB got hacked back in September last year and I was off social media for about three months. So much more time and my mental state was so much better once I decided it wasn’t worth the angst. I did manage to get most of it back as it’s tied into my business and marketing, but I’m working now to follow a slower marketing strategy and process. I realized just yesterday I was slowly being sucked back in and need to readjust my scrolling habits. Thanks for the reminder…