Social Media can be an amazing resource and communication channel. It can allow you to connect and share so easily with so many people. One of my favourite things about social media is sharing positivity! With a simple click of a button, we are able to make each other smile or laugh. Tagging my friends and family in funny memes was my greatest passion for a hot minute.
It can also allow you to feel close to your loved ones who live far away. While living abroad I would share my travels/updates and it felt like my family was right there with me.
It’s also an amazing tool to document and store all of your memories. If a lot of them are too embarrassing to be public like mine were, you can even have them locked so no one else can see them, but they are still stored in your account.
However, for some people, social media can also bring a lot of unnecessary stress, pressure, and other negative or unhealthy feelings. You might think this only happens to those working in roles where it’s your job to be on it 24/7 or maybe if you are an influencer or a celebrity.
I am here to represent the everyday people like you and me who may not have a huge following or presence but in some way, social media still affects us.
Social media could be the reason your weekly screen report is higher than you’d like to admit. I know I’m guilty of this. Recently I found myself needing to practice some good “social-media distancing.” I wanted to share some helpful tips and perspectives if you might be feeling this way too. Before I dive into my reasoning for “social media-distancing” I wanted to take a look back at when my online presence officially began.
It was 2007, Rihanna and Jay-Z’s single Umbrella was playing in the background and the biggest responsibility I had at the time was taking care of my Tamagotchi. I was on MSN Messenger with my friends and I remember asking them if their parents were letting them make a Facebook account too. We were in grade 7 (11/12 years old) and the internet was still this exciting new world. Free time in school was used to visit a lot of websites to either dress up my My Scene character, play Runescape, or watch the latest music videos on Music Jesus/YouTube.
My parents did not have an issue with me signing up and until a week ago my Facebook account had been active ever since. Sneak a peek at the most dated post I could find of myself below! YIKES.
Dirt biking, 2007
Grade 8 Graduation, 2008
Later, in Highschool, I joined the world of Instagram. My social media platforms, quality of my pictures, and wit in my captions have continued to grow ever since!
It wasn’t until about midway through college that I started to feel the pressure from social media. The jokes from family members began about how they thought I was addicted to my phone. “You didn’t read my text, Casey? How is that possible you ALWAYS have your phone!” or “Just ask Casey to check, she ALWAYS has her phone with her.” This is completely true; from the time I got my first cell phone to when I joined social media apps my phone usage just continued to increase.
According to Statista, the average users of social media worldwide has grown from 90 minutes a day to 144 minutes in 2019
I fell in love with public relations and the career choices ahead of me. A lot of our curriculum involved content on how to successfully manage and use social media professionally. We had a guest speaker come into one class and something he said stuck with me… he was talking about how your social media can be like an extension of your resume depending on the job you want and he said…
You need to be current and up to date on all of your accounts or have none at all
From there my interest in social media continued to grow and the pressure to be relevant and up to date on everything increased. I felt this pressure on my personal accounts and eventually also on my professional ones. Now for some people, they THRIVE in this and this is their passion. At the time I thought it was mine, but while in a past work position I found the constant pressure and stress of being online 24/7 affected me negatively. I remember telling a coworker if I ever have a job in the future where I am not required to be online I want to try a “social-media distance” as I am now calling it.
Recently I started work with a new company and my role responsibilities do not require any online presence whatsoever. Although I’d remember what I said to my coworker from time to time I still wasn’t ready to step away from it. I was aware of things like data mining and how social media can negatively impact your mental health. However, I never thought I was on the risk of any serious impact so I continued to stay online.
According to BBC, 80% of women have admitted representation of other women on social media makes them feel insecure
The final push, persuading me to log off was recently watching multiple documentaries on the impact of social media. This led me to do further research on the topic (podcasts, articles, etc.) which made a HUGE impact. This helped me make a final decision on social media distancing until further notice. I found that the two apps that I got lost in the most were Facebook and Instagram. For you, it could be completely different maybe it’s Twitter and YouTube or Tik Tok, Snapchat, etc.
When deciding to go offline I had to come up with a strategy that best suited me. My main goals were to lower my screen time, be more present, and have a healthier mindset. I want to spend more time doing things that I love that don’t involve me scrolling. I don’t believe my time offline will be permanent. However, I am excited to experience the benefits of disconnecting. I hope to have a healthier balance when I return, and not feel as much pressure or stress.
Logging off can feel more overwhelming than you thought it would be. Try these tips to help distance yourself from social media now or in the future…
Clean out your accounts
This all depends on the apps you want to distance yourself from. The app I spent the most time on was Instagram. Before I could simply delete the app I had some work to do.
Just deleting my app was not going to work because I knew I’d have a weak moment in the future. I could sneak back on to a fully loaded feed. Unfollowing everyone was necessary so I am not tempted with a feed to scroll through. Now I can look at the virtual photo album of my life I created without getting distracted by others. I also switched my account to private, let my friends know I was going offline, and revised my followers.
Delete the apps from your phone
This one is easy! I suggest simply deleting the apps from your phone. When you re-download them and go back in everything will be the same and waiting for your return.
Deactivate or delete your accounts altogether
If you really want to do a good media cleanse then you can completely delete your accounts altogether. I stated before you can also deactivate them. The difference between deleting/deactivating and deleting the app off your phone is people can still interact with your content while you’re gone. You could log back into your account a year later and have notifications from people engaging in your past content. Deleting your account will delete all of your content in the account permanently.
Have a friend change your password
If you have some trustworthy friends or family, have them change your password to your accounts. If you want to sneak back in, resetting your password takes more time than an impulsive click of a login button. Throughout the process of waiting for the reset e-mail, it will give you time to think about your decision.
Look at your screen reports
SCREEN REPORTS ARE KEY. Check your screen reports and see where you’re spending most of your time. This is one way of determining which apps might need to go!
Leave your phone at home
Getting distracted by the expectations to document every part of your life is so easy when your phone is always inches away from you. Something as simple as leaving your phone at home is another way of making sure you are present and in the moment.
Discuss it with others to hold you accountable
You know those trustworthy friends and family I mentioned above? Use them to hold you accountable, have them join you in your social-media distancing quest…
Lose yourself in the things you love
Fall back in love your hobbies. Replace your scrolling time with activities you enjoy. Maybe you already practice your hobbies but just need to dedicate more time to them? Take this article as a reminder to do so.
With all that being said, if you are someone that already succeeds at balancing your real-life presence and online presence that is amazing. If you feel you could be struggling with how much time you spend on social media but aren’t ready to take a step back from it yet that’s okay too. Everyone is different and has to follow their own process, just remember to find what works best for YOU.
If you are thinking about social media distancing some great ways to replace your scrolling time could be trying some new activities this fall or finding some great podcasts to tune into.
