WHY I WENT ON A SOCIAL MEDIA BREAK
Are you the type of person who posts everything you do on Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook the very second each activity or life event is happening? C’mon, we all are, lowkey. Even though it’s the best way to document life, at the same time it can be the distraction that takes you out of the moment. If you’re living through the lens of social media, always filtered, instead of keeping it real and directly interacting with life, your adventures and experiences are going to be of a lower quality and become less memorable.
June of 2015 forever truly changed my outlook on social media – I became a Lifestyle Blogger. The later part of 2016, I decided to do it full time (which by the way was still the best decision ever). At the same time, I realized I couldn’t be without my phone anymore. I couldn’t focus on the important things that really mattered – real relationships. My sleeping routine was unhealthy, and as much as I don’t want to admit it, social media was slowly diminishing my life’s quality – not to sound dramatic or anything. But really, it felt like I was comparing my life with everyone else’s and spending too much time watching instead of living in the moment. After some looooooong contemplation, I knew what I needed to do – I took a 40 day hiatus.
During these past few months I’ve taken periodic breaks from social media and blogging for various reasons, one of which is, I’m not gonna lie, losing my motivation to post regularly and consistently. Secondly, if you blog like me, then you can probably relate to having writer’s block, sometimes even just for writing a clever caption, or the frustration of putting in so much time and effort to edit a photo just so it would be aesthetically pleasing for your feed – it can be overwhelming.
These are just some of the reasons why I took a break from social media, but my ultimate goal was to reconnect with myself. I’m 23 and I’m still figuring out what and more importantly where my life is going to be. A few months ago, I was in Bali for one month and now I’m currently in California venturing the great unknown (stay tuned!). One thing is sure – for some reason, moving and traveling is what keeps me sane. The truth is, social media presents us with a distorted version of reality – the majority of what we see in social media is happy and positive thoughts. I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with that, but we tend not to notice the real struggles or low points in the lives of others through the lens of social media, which makes us feel more conscious about our own flaws. The need for validation, likes and comments can drive a person up the wall. If this sounds like you, you might need to consider a social media “detox”, at least temporarily. It may cause your online engagement to decrease, but you will definitely see a huge increase in your “real life” engagement.
Sometimes we forget the fact that what we see in social media does not truly represent someone’s life; rather, it’s merely a glimpse at specifically chosen moments from their camera roll. I realized its better to focus on reality instead of trying to project a certain image in social media.
At first it was hard to accept, but after some time spent on the road and unplugged, I found it did wonders for my creativity and motivation. Taking a break from social media will give you more time to focus on your own goals and what YOU really want out of life. I think I’ve finally evolved all things Lexie Puzon of 365storiestotell into what they’re supposed to be. Well, for the time being at least.