This week, I uninstalled the Instagram app on my smartphone and deactivated my Facebook account. I have done this several times in the past, but I was always back after a few days or weeks. (The longest I lasted was when I was reviewing for my board exams)
Now, I want to make it different. It's not easy but am determined to let this decision stick.
The reason why I decided to purge myself of these apps is so I can slowly take my life back. After doing an audit of my daily social media use, I've found that I've lost 2-4 hours per day, wasting time on all these sites. Granted, part of these hours were spent in commute--the time left is still substantial enough to be used for other things like exercise and learning a new skill.
Also, after 10 years maintaining an account on these platforms, I have seen it all and more, and I realized that it was finally time to shut down the constant stream of noise that permeated me everyday.
I am in my late 20's. So far, I think I've figured out which people I want to keep in the long haul, and these are people I've interacted with multiple times in person. I'm tired of seeing the mundane of people I'm merely acquainted with, and I'm sure they don't care as much about me as well, which I'm perfectly fine with.
Gone are the days when I would get anxious wanting everyone's approval. I hid the parts of myself that I thought no one would like. I would base my personality depending on the people I hung out with--until one day, I woke up and realized the few people I showed my real self to still stayed, even if I could be a colossal bitch a lot of times.
I'm lucky that I was still able to find people that support me, and accept me despite my flaws. I'm happier because of it. These are the relationships I want to focus on and grow--and not in a superficial way like social media.
For the likes?
I used to blog "professionally", which meant attending and covering events and shiz like that. Back then, the industry wasn't saturated as it is now. Nowadays, social media has democratized dialogues, and it's never been easier to discover people.
I don't mean to impose this on anyone (just stating my observations), but I noticed that most people would tend to follow 'popular' or 'goodlooking' people more. Well, my physical appearance, while acceptable, has not always been my identifier, greatest strength or 'marketability factor', so I was always disappointed when I would get a few likes on my posts--which mind you, I worked hard for.
I mean, nevermind the photo, right--cause I would try to make up for it by sharing something I found meaningful--but still, a photo of a pretty girl with a generic quote would get more attention. That used to make me so insecure. Good thing I got over it.
Still, I know I will probably get prone to feeling that way again, so I'm better off getting rid of the source, right?
My best friend heavily protested this decision. She said, I may not know it, but a lot of people appreciate my lengthy captions. She said there are people who appreciate the lessons I learn, and my general observations in life, which should be enough reason for me to stay on social media. But still, there was that bit about social media wasting my time, so she said, why not go back to blogging instead? Afterall, the writing bit is more my strength, rather than photos.
The only difference now is that I'm not pressured to constantly come up with content because I'm not actively marketing my blog in any way. Plus, I'll actually have time to come up with posts, because I ~*magically*~ have more free time on my hands.
Whatchu think? :P
Post a Comment