4 Things I Noticed When I Accidentally Left Social Media
A confession: I didn’t actually intend to leave social media. I deleted Instagram and then Facebook from my old phone only because it was becoming too decrepit to run properly. But as I set up my new phone months later, I realized I hadn’t missed social media one bit - so I decided not to re-install the apps.
Here is what I’ve noticed since then:
I was addicted. The number of times I reflexively tried to open the Instagram app was truly humbling. So was the ease with which I transferred that behavior to Facebook, and after deleting Facebook, email. Am I now using LinkedIn like social media? Probably! More on that later.
I shop less. Too often, I would see products on social media that I had never considered previously but suddenly could not live without. For the most part, “out of sight, out of mind” seems to be true with online shopping.
I read more. Without Instagram and Facebook, I began to check my email obsessively - and finally started reading all of those Substack subscriptions. Even better, I keep a book (or ten) on my coffee table at all times. I’m now on track to read 20 books this year, which I feel pretty good about!
I get bored. I think this is a great thing! I am more aware of time passing and am therefore less likely to complain that I don’t have enough time in the day. I am also more likely to do something meaningful with that time. But I am equally ok with not filling up that time, because I have been reminded that boredom yields creative thinking.
I should note that I did not delete my accounts; I simply removed my access to them from mobile devices and thankfully, I am not in the habit of spending time on my laptop outside of the office. Although this is currently working for me, a natural next step will be to delete the accounts.
Accidentally leaving social media helped me reduce my screen time and restore my attention span in my personal life. Now I want to know if I can afford to do the same in my professional life. For example, in this age of AI-induced anxiety about work, is it possible to have a robust career without using LinkedIn?
Stay tuned… unless I decide to go off the grid completely!
READING LIST
The Unplugged Hours, Hannah Brencher
The Anxious Generation and After Babel (Substack), Jonathan Haidt
Second Life, Amanda Hess
Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport
Food for thought in Chicago.