Five things I learned when I took a social media fast

I mentioned previously, that I was taking a break from Facebook. Well, my plans were kind of destroyed by the fact that I got sick and was home for ages…. So realistically, I was Facebook free for a mere THREE days. It doesn’t sound like much, but for someone obsessed with social media, it wasn’t that easy.

Even though my plan wasn’t quite a success, the three day break did teach me a few things. Here is what I learned:

1. I was able to evaluate relationships. Once I deleted all of those people, (around 200 to be exact), I initially felt very guilty. I mean, I was ruthless with the delete button. Basically anyone that was a mutual shared friend with my ex-husband went. That meant old friends, in-laws, even family members. I do want to maintain contact with some of these people, and will probably do so outside of Facebook for the time being. I realized I wasn’t worried about everything else going on in everyone’s lives. I wasn’t checking on whether someone I knew in elementary school got a job or if a person I met out one night’s doctor appointment went okay. As I know, I have to work on creating healthy boundaries, and this makes it so I don’t take on other peoples’ worries.
2. I had less contact with people who drain me. I stopped hearing from the ex-husband and family members calling to complain about something I did or didn’t do. No one can relay that I posted a picture of the kid eating a peep at 10:30 at night or that some sort of positive message that I posted was probably about them. It gave me a bit of relief from the constant anxiety and stress I felt.
3. Less snooping, meant less agitation. I will be honest. I wasn’t checking in to monitor what the ex was doing when I wasn’t on Facebook.
   The fact that he may have spent a bunch of money on something or someone while he isn’t paying child support….. well, I didn’t know. It didn’t let me get angry about it. In reality, there is nothing I can personally physically do about it anyway, and I am aware of the type of person he is already. So I don’t need to spy and see my suspicions are correct and then get annoyed over it. He is who he is, and he isn’t going to change. I need to accept….. AND BLOCK.
4. I am an escapist. I need an outlet to turn to when my stress or anxiety is overwhelming. Lately, it has been overwhelming times infinity! I was using Facebook as a means to distract myself, but in many ways it was increasing my anxiety. I need to find an outlet, preferably a creative, calming one.
5. Checking social media is a habit. I would rather be doing something constructive instead of wasting time scrolling on Facebook. There is a lot of time when I check social media just because it is something I do. When I’m not using it, I read more, spend time with the people I love more, and I am more engaged.

So overall, while my experience didn’t go exactly as planned, I can say I’ve learned quite a bit. I plan on sticking to limiting my Facebook time in the future. Well, except for my Facebook page for this blog. 😉

xo, Justine