Living for 30 Days Without Social Media

Social Media - that's about everything everyone has known since the past years. Like this, tweet that, react here - just about life is being spontaneously clicked at a mere press to the screens have radically changed our lives. And so, I decided to plug myself out and look back at what really makes our lives meaningful even without the social media platform.

Disclaimer: If you find social media as a means to live a better life, that is absolutely not wrong since all of us have our own ways of perceiving such context. This article will account the experiences I have as an avid social media user to now a social media hermit to have withdrawn from the SNS platforms for one month definitely.

The first days of being a social media hermit took quite a challenge since there is that constant mannerism to check on my phone for any notifications. To do this, I had to permanently set my account to deletion than to deactivate so it won't easily be opened at a moment's notice. (I had also intended to delete my account and make a new account as a detoxification over the negative context and content that my broad news feed content has taken over the past years. It was quite such a pain in the beginning, it frustrated me since I have no other source of information other than the social media in my life. Since newspapers, TV shows, and radios did not attract my attention as much as the social media, I have always depended on it for accumulating information I need to know. Definitely, it was not easy. I had to tell people that I was going through this social media hermit challenge so I would be accountable and not reactivate my account at any time. I also had to delete the applications that I have, similar to how Matt D'Avella. Because of this, the first five days seemed feasible enough to do to make it through out at least half of the week without opening my accounts.

The benefit? It hasn't shown up yet since the constant wanting and looking for things that my eyes would pry even gave a subtle discontent since I was neglecting what I initially wanted to do. It was frustrating, indeed. It required more willpower and determination to do over the temptation of having to be updated with the world. The fear of missing out slowly dissipated as each day had passed and I was able to evaluate myself more. Only then, I was able to move on to the next phase of this challenge.

The start up was good and it gained momentum. My friends already know what I had done, I have successfully deleted my accounts that gave away too much information, or that of my attention and time but didn't really seem to be that valuable to me. During the following days, I began to experience a different perspective when it comes to living outside. Whereas most of my friends were holding on to their phone and skimming through the newsfeed, I was less bothered of what I have to know about since I now understand that I do not always need to be updated to carry on with my life. They would sometimes be agitated or uneasy when they see a particular post that they do not like but since I am not exposed to such context, I am able to keep my peace intact for the rest of the day. Then, I learned how to develop and improve my attitudes significantly over the past days. My anger management was now truly manageable and I am less likely to get mad over matters. I was less anxious about what people would think of me. I was now concerned as to how to live a life with value even without a social media content.

The experience was truly rewarding and I am able to improve as an individual because of it. I was able to make more genuine time with my loved ones. I was able to be aware of my weaknesses as a person and constantly improve myself and my aspirations were always in check now that I do not check into something that often.

These last three days were proving to be very conclusive to me since it would mean that I would be back to the social media platforms and I was already satisfied by the way things are now. However, I cannot deny that the social media and the social networking sites now prove to be, if not, an essential tool of communication and information to our day to day life. If used for long and unhealthy terms, it will then take a toll to one's wellbeing similar to mine in which I had to take a break from it to detox and be in touch with what truly matters.

Social Media is a revolutionizing tool and a destructive one. If you are curious about finding more meaning without the means to look at a screen, you might want to try doing the 30-day social media hermit challenge.