As you probably know if you have been reading that blog for a while, I have no “mainstream social media”. What I call “mainstream social media” is Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok. I do have three social media accounts: a LinkedIn account (I told you in that post all about having a flattering online presence why I find it so important for students ), a Goodreads account because I need it for my job as a book reviewer & a Pinterest account I use to promote my posts. However, I do not feel like these three “social media account” serve the same purpose as Instagram or Twitter, thus I consider myself a social-media-free woman.
When I first talked with Carla from the blog I Can’t Wink, we discussed our main common point: we do not have social media. Thus, that topic appeared to be the best one for our very first collaboration. She wrote a post that will help you know if it is time for you to quit social media. Make sure you read her post after you read mine, it means a lot to both of us and, very soon, I am sure it will mean a lot to you as well.
Are you ready for to know what quitting social media will do to your life? Ready? Go!
You may also like: Ways in which quitting makeup will change your life.
You have more time.
That one is probably the most intuitive of the five. If you look at your screen-time (my phone does not allow for that but I know a lot of more recent ones do), you will probably be amazed. You probably spend several hours a day on your phone, and most of these hours are probably spent on social media. So many people go on social media as soon as they wake up! Not only is it bad for your mental health, but you are also losing so much time you could be investing either in a run or in a great breakfast. If you quit social media, your days will feel much longer.
If you are the kind of person who “doe not have time”, maybe you should consider a social media detox, even for a week. You will see the difference, I promise.
You have more energy.
That one goes hand in hand with time. Jealousy, envy, negative self-talk &c. are poisoning your life. If you are like me, these feelings often appear when you are on social media. I have realized that I am not feeling as envious or as depressed as I used to. Honestly, I even feel great now, and that is mainly due to the end of my “social media life”. I invest my energy in things that fulfill me: reading, writing, cuddling my cat and biking with my boyfriend, to quote just a few.
As human beings, we need to realize that the areas in which we invest our energy dictate the quality of our life. If you invest energy in social media and always feel bad when you stop, it may mean that social media is not a great way for you to spend time. Try to replace it with something else and see how you feel. That is the best way to know if a thing is good for you: how do you feel AFTER you have done it? If the answer is “worse”, consider quitting that habit.
Your level of self-confidence explodes.
On social media, we compare. Do not tell me you never do, I won’t believe you. Even if we know that social media is now almost art and that everything is mainly fake, we compare because we are human beings. We do not have to blame ourselves, but we have to take responsibility for the way we feel. When you quit social media, you stop comparing as much (you see less persons to compare yourself to and the persons you see are real, so look less “perfect” and more “human”) and you start feeling great. You feel better in your imperfect skin, your messy apartment and your 9 to 5 because you understand that “normal” is great and that other “normal people” (aka real non-social-media people) are just as great as you are.
You may also like: Do not compare!
You feel less envious.
I told you in that post how jealousy and envy were feelings that had you lose both your precious time and your precious energy. When you quit social media, you stop seeing so many glittery things and you can start enjoying a more “normal” and simple life. The least you see things that may make you envious, the least envious you are. Quite simple.
You create deeper relationships.
That one may be the most “counter-intuitive” point even if I feel like it is getting more and more discussed online. I have met incredible people online, do not get me wrong, but most of the people we follow are just basically people we do not know. Having talked to them once to say how beautiful their Instagram feed was does not count as a “genuine relationship” to me. Thus, we lose so much time on social media looking at people’s life but not talking to people we know in real life. Even when we are spending quality time with a loved one in real life, we tend to check our notifications and that is beyond sad.
If you do not feel ready to quit social media yet, maybe consider turning off your notifications or, at least, putting your phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode when you are hanging out with a friend. Take care of your relationships with people you just meet in real life, they are more important than you may think.
I really hope that post helped you see that there is nothing wrong in quitting social media. It may, contrary to popular belief, make your life better and more fulfilling. We live in a society which makes it weird to be “social media free”. I can’t count how many time I have been told “Well, not even Facebook?!” but even if most people do not understand, most people actually do not care. You need to do what is best for YOU, not for them because chances are they will have forgotten that you are not on social media in two days. Moreover, is not it cool to be a little different?
Make sure you check Carla’s post to know if right now is the right time for you to take the leap. Do not forget that if you are considering it, it is probably time to do it.
The English-speaking Frenchie 
Leave a comment