Honestly, I love social media. You can be anything you want on social media: some people are funny, some are inspirational, some are…not funny….
I love sharing tweets and seeing people’s reactions. I love laughing at friends I follow that are funny, I feel like I stay in touch with people I haven’t talked to in years, it unites people (and divides people) when watching sports, political events, or anything else for that matter, and it keeps people informed.
What am I going to do after I finish writing this post? Tweet it.
Social media is a great thing. However, being addicted to it is not.
This is why I hate social media.
Wake up in the morning? Check social media. Going to sleep? Check social media. Get off work? Check social media.
I’ll admit it. I have a fear of missing out. I’ve found that having easy access to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. meant I couldn’t put my phone down. I would have to scroll as far down as the last thing I read just to be sure I saw everything. Even after checking the sites mentioned above I could find a reason to check Vine, LinkedIn, SportsCenter, The Weather Channel, and my three email accounts before getting back to reality.
I don’t only hate it because I’m addicted to it, I hate it because I’m self-conscious of my posts on it. I once compared a tweet not being favorited to telling a joke in front of everyone you know and no one laughing at it. MORTIFYING. Just kidding, but this is just another example of how social media had power over my life. I needed “success” on social media to feel affirmed.
My friend told me that she is giving up social media for a year because she became addicted to it. I would have a hard time committing to give it up for a year however, it did challenge me to go without it for a bit.
The first day or two I found myself checking every other app on my phone just for the sake of checking it. Apparently I convinced myself a lot had happened with the weather and it was essential that I check it every hour on the hour. After that had subsided though, I found myself with much more free time. When I had time to kill I would spend it reading. I gained so much knowledge, encouragement, and faith from what I was reading too, I quickly realized it was a better use of my time.
What did going without social media teach me? It forced me to evaluate my priorities in life and by the end I realized that living without social media was freeing. Free from the need to be in-the-know, constantly checking, and relying on others for affirmation.
Social media is not bad. I still plan on tweeting and posting and love seeing my friends do the same, but I would encourage you not to allow yourself to become addicted to your feed.
Live life in the present and to the fullest.
LVL 
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