A ‘like’ cannot replace a smile. Take a social media detox. 👍🙃

I have a regular habit of completely disappearing…

… from social media.

For a whole month, I posted more than usual. Sharing anything and everything. Food, city, adventures, friends, work, pets… Every. Single. Day. (Almost).

Only to completely give it up for another month. I posted nothing on Instagram — my primary social network. It was such a contrast that I’ve been hearing things like “are you not taking a picture of this?”, “are you okey? You haven’t posted anything in a while”, “is nothing interesting happening”?

Yes, I’m totally okay. It’s not because nothing has been happening. In fact, the last couple of weeks have been the very eventful and adventurous. The last 3 months of the year are always the most adventurous and fast paced months.

But, I had to take a break…

Why?

Posting and aimlessly scrolling through stories and newsfeed is a deep-rooted habit.

When we meet a new person, it has become normal to friend them on Facebook or follow them on Instagram. We know our friends more from what they post and share than face to face interactions. It’s our main source of news. We wake up to our phones.

Social media isn’t bad. It has great benefits to stay connected, for marketing, business and to spread positive messages to the world. It’s a great tool; but they can take over our lives if we lose control.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other apps are taking us out of our real lives and cause us to only exist in a virtual world. We all have the instinct to fit in. A sense of belonging is one of the most sought after and rewarding feeling we experience. We take long videos at sporting events, concerts and events to “re-live the moment” later or just to share it with our friend on our profile. All the while we sacrifice living in the moment, experiencing and creating memories as life happens.

Successful group interactions triggers the pleasure centres of our brains. Releasing dopamine synonymous with drug use. The feeling of belonging is sought in us like drug addicts seeking their next high.

Social media is built to exploit this. All the little features, comments, likes, new notifications are just gimmicks to get us hooked by causing dopamine to be released. Some companies even employ tactics used in gambling to make it addictive so you keep coming back for more and more.

We spend our whole lives interacting with our friends online. We are more comfortable with our phones than in a face to face interaction. But a ‘like’ cannot replace a smile or a complement. We sacrifice a real face to face interaction for a quick text message or a comment.

The Challenge

Give yourself a break. Reclaim your personal identity! Meet and catchup with your friends face-to-face. Challenge yourself to go without social media. A few days or a few weeks?

If you can’t give it up, you don’t own it. It owns you.

Take a break and reassess your priorities. After a month of taking a break, I’ve reclaimed my wasted time, realigned with my priorities and I’m ready for my important next two months. 💪🏽

#NewStuff #ComingSoon