im sitting here doing homework. my mind is often in 5 different places at once (is that a female thing or just a thing?). its on someone and how i will text them tomorrow morning. its on moving to college with my best friend (not actually happening, just thinking of the possibility), its on the actual task at hand, as well as the music that’s playing (Hugh Laurie, it’s absolute dreamy, the sound of his voice and the lyrics he sings). while my mind has been different places, it jumped to social media.
today in my house we’ve all been sort of banned from using the internet so my mom can upload a large file to her class forum (our internet is slow so something like this takes all of it). i was thinking about how free feeling it is to be completely unobligated to check facebook or snapchat, or upload a photo to instagram.
we dont realize how much time social media sucks from our day. valuable time that can be used to accomplish much more important and productive things. (or for some, social media takes away from the full concentration of a favorite television show).
i have a friend whom ive mention before, but he rarely is on any social media. he never gets on facebook, and he only is on snapchat sometimes.
ive been attempting to adopt this mindset, that only people in my actual life should know what’s (if anything) going on. as ive deleted my instagram app, ive noticed a great deal of relief (seems silly as i actually say it). i dont have to post a picture on instagram, i dont feel obligated to scroll through and like photos. it is really nice not having people know what im doing for some reason.
i try not to tweet, and i did well until yesterday. however, im on the site far less than i was before, and i have found my thoughts to be much more intelligent. as for facebook, i rarely posted before, however i do scroll through it during the day to fill empty spaces of time. it is very boring and i really dont know why i still get on there (okay probably because of those article that suck you in like ¨the top ten funniest photos you’ll see this year¨ that if you keep clicking it will go to the next article and so on).
my goal in doing this was that 1) i would create more room on my phone by deleting these apps
and 2) that i would have a more creative mindset.
so far (one week in) it has gone excellently. i have found that when i journal my thoughts are much more put together and elegant. it has allowed me to blog with much more freedom, and change what i blog about (this thoughts series is because i have put away the bulk of my social media usage). productivity levels have increased greatly as well, i dont have to pick up my phone and instagram anymore so i actually get things done. i wouldnt mind abolishing the whole thing, except that social media is a way to help increase the popularity of this blog. but you know, i wouldnt really mind just letting it be. social media is a thing, but its not a necessary thing.
i encourage you to take a week off from social media and see how it goes.
one thing i have found out from this little experiment is that im often more frequently frustrated when im with friends and they are on social media instead of all of us interacting with each other. (we typically place our phones in the middle of the table and arent allowed to check them until after we eat). not only does social media take time from productive activities and creative pursuits, it also takes time from real life bonding with one another.
i love my instagram life dearly, enjoy posting snapchat stories, and i also feel like i must tweet about something.
but it isn’t a necessary part of my life, and i will gladly keep this going. not everyone has to know what you are doing at all times, and thoughts can be placed more detailed in a journal than they can be in a 140 character tweet.
im not a social media hater, im simply taking control of my life and using my time more usefully. boy is it sure a relief. im extremely excited to continue in my creative pursuit, for i will be using the time i would spend on social media to be a more creative person. more photography, a great deal of writing, and reading, (oh how i want to read books! havent done that in so long what with working and training and homeworking and social networking and netflixing)
before i leave, check out hugh laurie. absolutely fabulous musical artist. he will be discussed on september’s playlist most definitely. (thank you josh for this wonderful musical discovery you have given to me).
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