Social Media Detox Round 2

Last summer, I decided to take a break from social media, and managed to stay off Facebook and Twitter for a little over a month. I needed a break because of everything that was happening with the election and all the depressing news, but also because I was starting to develop an unhealthy relationship with social media in that I was comparing my life to what seemed like the perfect, successful lives of people I don't even talk to in real life. I'm at that age where everyone is getting full time jobs, moving out of their parents' houses, getting engaged and getting pregnant, and sometimes, it's super easy to look at your own life and feel like you're doing it wrong.

Taking that break was honestly the most freeing, best thing I had done for myself in a while at that point, and when I did come back to social media, I felt much more refreshed and willing to not look at myself compared to everyone else as critically. However, it seems that I'm starting down that road again, and with all the new responsibilities I have with my library internship, new job, and position on a school organization, it's getting harder to not compare my life to other people's.

That's why I've decided to take yet another Facebook break. I don't need to hear everyone's opinions on current events or read about ANOTHER person getting engaged, so I'm taking a step back and eliminating my Facebook time altogether. Still, I think in this political climate it's really important to keep up with the news, so I'm still going to be on Twitter, and obviously I'm going to continue blogging. Twitter can be a mixed bag, but sometimes in the midst of all the horrible real-life things happening, good things can happen too, like author campaigns to raise money for hurricane victims and posi-bots and cute animal accounts, so it seems safe to remain on the Twitters for now.

I'm not sure how long this Facebook break will last, and it will probably be hard at first to maintain, but since I've done it before I know it will benefit me in the long run and hopefully leave me feeling more relaxed in my day-to-day life.

Have you ever done a social media detox? How did it effect your day-to-day life and emotional state?