The Silence of Social Media

Have you ever tried turning off social media notifications on your phone? I did. It was the best decision I could make. 

So, recently we went on vacation, and I was truly incredibly tired of all the work and studies stuff plus working on social media every day… Therefore, I turned off all the notifications that are disturbing me daily.

What it was?

Instagram likes, comments, follows and all the other notifications that pop up too often on my phone’s screen. Also, all Facebook, Messenger and email notifications were turned off too. The only app I left on was Whatsapp because we use it for a family chat and nothing else. 

On the first day of this social media silence, it was quite weird. I was unconsciously checking my phone, opening those muted apps and looking for what I’ve missed. It was mostly automatic movements towards the phone.

On the second and third days, I was reaching out to the phone less and less. I became more present and almost forgot all those things I usually need to keep up to.

Finally, the last few days of the trip were a blast. Not a thought came to my mind to share something on social media, no matter how amazed I was with the city and new experiences. My mind was present. I was present. It felt so good and I didn’t have that feeling for the past couple of months.

Mental vacay

The vacation was supposed to help me rest mentally, not physically (walking all day long, you know what I mean). But the reason most of us struggle to rest mentally is not only because we have to work eight hours per day and it includes constant attention. In my opinion, we struggle to rest mentally because we have too many distractions. And most of them come from our beloved phones.

Well, and this is why I gave myself social media silence.

In order to not only fill my mind with new experiences but to also stay away from the things that don’t really matter much.

Even though it wasn’t very easy, now I’m feeling thankful to myself. Maybe you should try it too.