In today’s society it can be difficult to love your true self when you are constantly surrounded by pressures and expectations often rooting from social media. Although I first got social media to contact my friends, I soon felt that it became a burden and a challenge to fit in with the latest trends and come across as ‘cool’. I can certainly say that I felt the heavy weight from the competition of social media and I was more than happy to leave that all behind. However, how can you delete social media when it plays such an important role in our lives?
Its true when they say that ‘comparison is the thief of joy’ and I think we can all relate to this in some way. It difficult to love yourself when you see how successful or beautiful the next person is, and I certainly felt like I was knowingly hurting my self esteem when I spent hours on Instagram scrolling through stunning pictures and wondering why I was not like that.
The truth is that people only post their best lives on social media platforms, and why wouldn’t you – we all want to make a good impression and put forward the best version of ourselves! You just have to learn to take this with a pinch of salt – no one is going to voluntarily show their morning face!
For me, I felt that I needed a break… and a long one too! I made the decision to delete my Instagram account and Pinterest. I also got rid of snapchat (which was difficult at the time!) Despite feeling very lost for the first few weeks and feeling like I had no real contact with anyone, it began to get better. I actually did this detox just before I left for Costa Rica – this really helped as I didn’t have much internet connection there anyway so I did not feel the need to check my phone constantly. In fact, in Costa Rica, the idea of creating this blog was born although I didn’t put it into practice until a few weeks ago!
Having this change of scenery for a few weeks and the lack of social media helped me to feel more grounded and free. I felt like I did not have to conform to stereotypes or constantly try and be ‘perfect’. I could just be content with myself. Remember, its often better when no one knows EXACTLY what is going on in your life, it offers you a great sense of privacy.
At first I felt that I would be judged for being ‘out of date’ since I didn’t have social media. However, people just seemed to accept this choice I had made and some even congratulated me and said that they wanted to do the same!
I still don’t have any social media and it is almost 9 months later! I definitely have not missed it, but I am tempted to start afresh and try again – but definitely limit my time and not let things get to me so much!
From this social media detox process I have learnt that I don’t need social media to feel ‘validated’. It was causing more harm than good and I felt a lot more freedom when I got rid of it. Although I may not have the constant contact with everyone, I have what I need and I am still easily able to connect with my friends and family.
If you are wanting to detox from social media but unsure whether you should do it… I would recommend to go for it, it doesn’t need to be permanent but you may find that a break from social media is just what you need!
Pura Vida 