I spent 2 weeks off social media and survived! How did I do it? How did I find it? What have I learnt? What did I miss in the land of the Kardashians and cat videos? As part of my Yvette vs. the world challenges, a dear reader-thanks Melissa-suggested a social media break. At first it was quelle horreur! And then it was what the hell have I got to lose! I felt nervous deleting the apps from my phone. Bye Twitter! Adios Insta! Fare-thee-well Facebook! Some entries from my Dear Diary…
Day 1: Survived 1st day but I must admit it was strange not to see any of those red circles on my phone this morning. I still picked up my phone during the day but in the absence of facebook/ instagram/twitter I found myself looking at my weather app and refreshing my emails. After a movie, I turned on my phone to see all I’d missed and it was…nothing apparently. Feeling liberated but also like something’s missing. Will it get easier or harder….
Day 3: Seemed to have more time. Less anxious when I check phone as there’s nothing to like and no one that’s ‘liked’ me. Still strange in the mornings and checking email lots!
Day 4: Today I was reminded about the potential to harness the power of social media for good with the news of how the people of Manchester have reacted to the bombing by offering food, shelter and a safe place to meet to others using Facebook or have reached out to find loved ones or mark themselves as safe.
Day 6: Mind clearer (or could be the 2 coffees), enjoyed walking around the neighbourhood looking around (instead of looking down) and waiting in line people watching (rather than phone watching). Wondering what celebrities are up to and resisting urge to find celebs on Instagram whose shows I’m watching. Eg: Master of None-Aziz Ansari-Alessandra Mastronardi-and then going a-scrolling ad infinitum.
Day 9: Logged into watch 60 minutes on 9-now (yay Hamish and Andy) using Facebook profile and saw a brief glimpse of my home page with 63 notifications and 1 friend request. Ahhh!!! Feel anxious and curious about them as I like to ‘deal with’ notifications quickly and I love checking things off a to-do list. I’m comforted however that if it was anything urgent, I’d get a message or a text or email or call. I do miss seeing what my fave celebs are up to.
Day 11: Feeling virtuous but hope no-one thinks I’m ignoring their comments or their birthdays. Maybe when I go back on I’ll cleanse list-turn notifications off, leave groups.
Day 12: I must admit that my world does feel a bit smaller without seeing on what the rest of the world is up to. Facebook is a great way of connecting with a like minded community of people. My Aunt, who lives in country NSW, says it connects her with people passionate about the same things as her which she couldn’t find in a small town. I’m enjoying no notifications so think I’ll turn these off and streamline groups and pages I follow when I get back online.
Day 13: Feel I’m using time I have more efficiently without stopping to check my notifications every 2 minutes and disappearing down the rabbit hole of time suckage. But, I’m looking forward to going back online.
Day 14: Back online! Ahhh it looks different=software update! At least 1 missed birthday, sorry Liz! I turn off notifications and unfollow old pages and leave groups I’m not interested in and resolve to look up more. I post my blog and fight urge not to continually check phone-please like me!
Postscript: I am now checking my socials less frequently and for shorter spurts of time, and aim to have one day digital free a week. But if bored I can easily go into scroll Zombie land so one must be vigilant and take in only things that uplift. I love you real and virtually! Let’s use the powers for good and not evil!
Love and light and likes xxx Yvette
Weave the Future Magical 
What an interesting experiment and great to follow how you went. It makes us realise how connected most of us are these days. I find that between checking twitter to see what is happening in the world, reading/replying to emails, using my phone to work out crossword clues etc. that the days go very quickly and aren’t always as productive as they should be. Look forward to your next blog. Always hard to guess what the next one will be about!!
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Thanks! It was an interesting experiment and challenging at first. My habits have improved and turning off the notification has been a good move. I appreciate you reading and commenting. I think an occasional digital detox is good for us all ❤️
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I’ve never been on social media, other than my hotmail account!!
Am I aloof?
Am I making things hard for myself?
I might have met the love of my life on a Facebook page by now goddamn it!!
I feel as if I’m not missing out on anything, I just put more effort into calling friends and family.
No-one in my immediate family is on it- genetic disposition??
I do love watching the telly though and waste a bit of time feeling social connection with Barnarby, Virginia in the mornings, Jules from escape to the country etc etc xxx
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I think you’re avoiding a lot of time wastage and a false sense of familiarity. Sometimes I wonder if I’d say hi to some of my Facebook friends if I saw them on the street and yet I’ve seen many pics of them at parties or on holidays! Also love a bit of Tv escapism. It was a challenge for me to not use it but am now attempting ‘mindful usuage’. I enjoy our good old fashioned catch ups! 😍
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