These past few months made me thankful that I opted for blue-light lenses at my last eye appointment. For a while, the world had gone almost entirely digital and the constant refreshing of my emails and newsfeed put my screen time at an all-time high. I have always loved that social media provides us a universal form of connection, especially in the moments when connecting through the Internet is one of the only choices we have, but after a while, it started to become draining, and the constant dings and chirps of notifications sounded like a dissonant orchestra ringing through my speakers.
And after much self-convincing and hesitation to break my scrolling habits, I decided to take a step back from the world of social media.
I turned off the notifications on my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram apps and put them in a separate folder on my phone labeled “DO NOT CHECK" and my phone fell silent with the exception of a few text messages from friends and family and some promotional emails from companies begging me to come back and online shop even more.
And that silence was loud, because to my surprise, from the moment I moved those apps out of my sightline, my desire to incessantly scroll and refresh as a form of stimulation vanished. I didn't miss it, not even in the beginning. It almost felt like the "responsibility" of knowing what each one of my mutuals was doing at that exact moment in time was lifted.
Social media is a wonderful thing, but my unhealthy obsession with it swept all the good parts of it away and turned it into as toxic of a habit as biting your nails.
I had let myself get to a point where checking my newsfeed was no longer an enjoyable experience and it caused my mental health to take a nosedive. The most beneficial aspect to regain some mental stability in the absence of my platforms was a obtaining sense of mindfulness. It allowed me to be more present in the mundane moments of my daily life and be more conscious of how I spend my free time. Without a media safety net to fall back on, I had to channel my energy into things that I normally "didn't have time for" such as writing for pleasure or painting. And guess what? It turns out if I cut down on the amount of time I spent closing and re-opening Instagram I might actually have some spare moments after all.
About a week ago, I finally decided it was time to rejoin the world of social media but this time, I am doing things differently. Although my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram apps have regained their designated locations on my home screen, I kept the notifications for all three turned off. I have been trying my best to limit my scroll time to once in the morning and once before bed to scare away the notion of becoming overly invested in everyone's day-to-day life again and focus more on my own.
I don't have to be the first like on my BFF's latest Instagram post for her to know I love her just as much as I did before her latest update.
It is so important to pay attention to the updates that affect the world around you and to stay engaged in your community, but it is equally as critical to make your own life and your mental health a priority.
Don't forget to take the time to lock your screen, close your laptop, and be present in the life that is taking place around you right now.
