I took a little “sort of, not quite, almost” break from social media last week. I wanted to challenge myself to a week of unplugging completely, but I was in the midst of the 30 Days of Gratitude posts on FB and had the Thursday Shop Share commitment. I ended up taking more of an “intermittent fasting” approach. I logged out of both platforms which meant I had to log in WITH INTENTION.
Why did I feel the need to do this and why is the intention part so important to me? I had gotten to the point where I was picking up my phone mindlessly, automatically tapping the FB icon, and scrolling. I don’t like Instagram all that much so that wasn’t a huge issue, but it still got its share of my mindlessness. TikTok is so annoying that I didn’t even need to log out of that shenanigans. LOL.
Honestly, it is embarrassing for me to admit that I have been using social media as a tool for procrastination, denial, avoidance, etc. It has been long past time for me to own up and acknowledge it. It is highly unlikely that I would advocate for abandoning it altogether. This is not realistic and social media is not the problem. How I use it determines if it is an asset or a liability. My issue of procrastination still needs to be dealt with. I might not have racked up the hours on FB but I did rack up more time on the Words of Wonders game! I even earned first place on the weekly challenge! Oh joy!
Last week showed me how often I mindlessly pick up my phone. Going forward I will continue to log out of each platform so that when I do log in it will be with my full awareness. I shared what I was doing with a few friends. To my surprise, almost every person said they, too, felt they spent too much time mindlessly scrolling and wanted to decrease their screen time. This is the reason for this post. It made me wonder how many other people feel the same. Could that be you? Do you feel like sharing your thoughts in the comments?
P.S. I might not be deleting FB and IG from my phone but I sure as heck might delete that damn Words of Wisdom game! Therein lies the beauty of Wordle and Spelling Bee. They can only be played once a day. But I digress!