My Hiatus from Social Media… Well, Kinda

0

It was time to take a break. Social media was taking up too much space in my daily routine. Even app limits I had set for myself weren’t doing anything for me. I was using Instagram up to 8 hours a day total. INSANE. My kiddo was seeing me on my little screen too often and something inside of me said, “Enough.” Life was happening outside of my tiny screen and I was missing all of it. I decided to limit my time on social media. So I bid adieu to Instagram (my favorite platform) for about a month, and here’s how that went.

Why I did it: Too much noise

I truly enjoy social media: connecting with people, laughing at awesome memes, viewing parenting tips, inspirational posts, etc. I found it was a way for me to record pieces of my life, too. But many times, my head felt stuffy afterwards. And it wasn’t a sinus headache either. Nope, it was the amount of gunk that had inadvertently built up because there was so much “world” swirling in my mind. I had to cut the noise.

What’s crazy is that there were times where I would literally be on autopilot and end up opening Instagram via a shortcut screen when I was meaning to open up a baby tracking app. YIKES: I had trained my brain to go straight to Instagram as soon as I picked up my phone. It brought to light the mindless tapping I do on my phone. It was such an ingrained habit to go onto social media, that I didn’t even think before doing it, I just did it.

How I did it: Boundaries

Instagram was the one social media app absorbing most of my attention. I went cold turkey and deleted the app from my home screen. I didn’t delete it from my phone though because I didn’t want to have to reinstall it later. Once I deleted it from my home screen, I wouldn’t go on the app at all. I turned off all notifications from Instagram in my Settings. I would not go on it first thing in the morning, last thing at night, in the bathroom, etc. 

Limiting social media: The turnout

I did SO much when I wasn’t on social media! Being off of Instagram allowed me to finally finish my son’s playroom. It had been a goal for so many months. We had everything we needed for his playroom, but the items would just travel from the storage room to the disorganized “playroom” slash catch-all room to the TV room to the guest bedroom… it just never got done! Now my son LOVES going to his dedicated playroom! He has so much fun in it and I love watching him enjoy it.

I found that limiting social media actually helped me “check out” less. Do you know what I mean? Social media can be a place where zoning out becomes a hobby, and that can get tricky. As a mom (and even a stay-at-home-mom), my attention is crucial. Accidents are prone to happen when we are distracted. Prior to taking a break, I even had noticed myself becoming less motivated to cook, to clean, or even do anything.

Lastly, limiting social media helped me be in my life more. I wasn’t a spectator, I was living it. I could enjoy my time looking out the window with my son, listening to my husband about his day, taking pictures for the heck of it. And you know what? Now, even after my hiatus, I don’t feel the need to go on Instagram as often anymore.

Fear of Missing Out

FOMO is real; but it is given so much credit. I’m not just talking about missing out on giveaways (although 99.5% of the time, I never win anything). Maybe we’d miss out on awesome sales Instagram’s algorithms would bring to your attention. I’m talking about the birth of a baby of someone you know or missing an invite to a party because that person didn’t know how to contact you outside of social media.

These platforms are amazing vehicles for these interactions. Social media is a great place to celebrate other people’s victories and achievements. But if you have experienced FOMO, I want to tell you: it’s ok to miss out. And honestly, your friends and family will know how to get ahold of you some other way if you’re more than a social connection to them. We will forever be glued to social media and miss out on our own lives if we cannot take healthy breaks from it.

How has social media had a positive or negative impact in your life? How do you think that manifests itself in your parenting?