What I Learned From My 2 Month Social Media Break

If you’re brand new here, then you might have missed that I decided to take the summer off of social media and the blog. I wrote a bit about my decision to step back here. Prior to this, Heather and I have not missed a blog post in over 7-8 years…I forget how old we are. We have never taken a break, so it was freeing to take a step back.

It turned out to be an almost 2.5 month break from Instagram (both personal and our shared account) and the blog. I still kept Facebook because I like the local groups and staying current with local happenings over the summer, but only checked 1-2 x week.

I did not delete the app from my phone, but took it off my home screen. I actually have not put it back on my home screen, so when I open my phone it is not staring me in the face. I have to work a bit to find it. The first few days I found myself absentmindedly opening my phone and going to click where the app used to be if I had any idle time. That right there, made me realize how necessary this little break was.

After about the first week I honestly forgot about it. Sure, curiousity would get the best of me and I would wonder what was going on in the social media world, but as time went on I realized I actually did not care. When I would jokening ask friends to fill me in, they would tell me I was not missing a dang thing! I have a handful of friends also off social media who checked in on me over the summer to see how it felt, and we would agree how freeing it was.

It’s not that deep, but here are some pros and cons and my overall takeaway.

PROS

• I found myself texting with friends more and checking in the old fashion way (texting NOT calling gasp!) and we would fill each other in on what’s been going on and send pictures back and forth.
• I was less attached to my phone. I felt less of a need to be documenting what I was doing, responding to DMs, staying on top of trends, etc. Sometimes I wouldn’t even know where my phone was in the house.
• I was more present with the girls. I realized how often I would be scrolling on my phone while with them. There was less of them asking to see my phone, what I was looking at, etc.
• Less comparison to what others were doing with their summer break. We kept things very chill this summer and it was nice to feel content with that.
• I had more time. Before bed I had more time to read, watch a show, etc. because I wasn’t doomscrolling.
• Focus on my family. I needed to prioritize my family this summer. With Daisy’s surgery and recovery, and other things going on (vague I know), I needed disconnect and focus on what was most important.
• New perspective on social media and what I want to get out of it. On my personal account I unfollowed or muted A L O T of people and really only follow my handful of favorite people and accounts I learn from.
• Less online shopping!
• Renewed enjoyment for the blog, nutrition, and connecting.

CONS (I don’t have as many)

• Feeling out of the loop with what was going on in the world, current events, book reviews, and the nutrition science field. The people I learn the most from primarily only share information via Instagram.
• I missed posting a cute pic of the girls or Daisy, but I found myself texting those to my friends and family instead of posting online.

Overall, I think it was a positive decision for me to take a step back over the summer, Heather was SO supportive and we talked about it a lot towards the end of summer. I think moving forward we may take more breaks during holidays or over the summer, post less, and not put so much pressure on ourselves. We LOVE blogging, sharing content, and connecting with you all and I really did miss that aspect of social media.

xx, A