Is It Worth Giving Up Social Media?

Around this time last year, I wrote a post about giving up social media accounts. Specifically, I was giving up my Twitter and Facebook accounts.

I had come to the realisation that I no longer enjoyed these social media platforms and I didn’t feel that they helped me to actually connect with people.  Instead, they felt like a time suck and I wondered if that time could be better spent.

Today, one year on, I wanted to discuss if I feel it is worth giving up social media.

WHY I GAVE UP SOCIAL MEDIA

In the early days of Facebook and Twitter, I actually used them to chat with people. I’d write on my pals Facebook walls and I’d check in with my friends on Twitter.

Nowadays, Facebook messenger negates the need to communicate via Facebook itself and Twitter has evolved to be something entirely different (in my opinion).

Yet, I’d find myself mindlessly scrolling through my Facebook and Twitter feeds even though I didn’t really enjoy doing this. I’d schedule some tweets and Facebook posts for my blog (despite the fact that– thanks to Facebook pushing paid promoted posts– hardly anyone saw the latter so it felt like wasted energy).

Plus, I convinced myself I needed to be present on social media. That’s what bloggers are meant to do right?

And, this did stop me from doing anything about it for a while. Then, as we rolled towards 2019, I decided I wanted to spend the next year being creative and doing more of the things I enjoyed.

Making Space For Other Things

I began to wonder if I would make space for doing more and if I’d procrastinate less if I didn’t have the distraction of social media.

The resounding answer to that was a big, fat yes. Don’t get me wrong; I can still procrastinate and that’s just in my nature.

But, I am no longer wasting my time meaninglessly scrolling through Facebook and Twitter. One year on, I still have a deactivated personal Facebook account and my Twitter account no longer exists.

What’s more, I haven’t missed Twitter or Facebook in the slightest.

I’m spending more time writing, reading actual books and painting. To me, that’s much more fulfilling than scrollling mindlessly through social media feeds.

Do I feel Like I am Missing Out?

Sure, maybe you could argue I am slightly out of the loop with some things.

But, my viewpoint is this. If people can’t take two minutes to message me to tell me their news… well, that speaks volumes in itself.

Plus, it’s okay to not know everything. Do I absolutely need to know that such-and-such who I never actually speak to (but we ended up being Facebook friends) did a thing on Saturday?

I prefer the simplicity of not knowing everything and– call me old-fashioned– but I much prefer talking to people than learning something from a Facebook post.

If that means I’m slightly out of the loop, I’ll take it. I feel that–overall– it’s better for my mental health.

Impact on my Health

Speaking of health, it’s not just my mental health that has benefitted from reducing my social media use.

My physical health has too.

This stems from the simple fact that I spend less time staring at a phone screen. I know that constantly looking at my phone and consuming content leaves me feeling drained and… like crap to put it bluntly.

Now, I’m not perfect. I sometimes still spend too much time on my phone but the lack of social media to scroll through definitely helps.

I Didn’t Get Rid of Social Media Completely

I feel it’s important to share that I haven’t gotten rid of social media completely. I have kept up with Instagram (two accounts actually) and Pinterest. The former I enjoy and the latter being more like a search engine than a social media platform; and one that is important to my blog’s traffic.

Thanks to Tailwind*, it also takes no time to keep up with pinning my (and other people’s) content. It generally takes me half an hour once a week. And, it feels like time well spent since my blog greatly benefits from Pinterest.

And, in the last while I brought back my blog’s Facebook page. You need a personal page to do this so it’s only been possible by having my husband as the admin (though it’s me who responds to any comments).

Admittedly, I did this to try and get a feature on Instagram to work that relied on Facebook (ugh!). But, I realised there was no harm in keeping it since Instagram automatically posts to Facebook. So, it was no extra work on my part.

Making Changes to How I Use Instagram

That said, I’ve made a change recently in regards to one of my Instagram accounts.

I made the decision to set one of my accounts to private. This will, of course, have an impact on the associated Facebook page since posts will no longer be shared across. But, I’m okay with that.

I came to realise I have no interest in growing this Instagram account and I’d rather simply post when I feel I have something to share.

Maybe this will change in the future. But, for now, keeping up with two Instagram accounts is not something I want to commit the time to.

I made one account private as I’d rather direct people to the account I am spending more time on: @febstarsart.

I’m Enjoying My Art Account more

I’m getting more enjoyment out of sharing my artwork (especially since it’s what I spend most of my time working on besides this blog). Plus, I like that it’s less about me personally and more about what I’m doing.

It’s been great to share my recovery from Lyme Disease on Instagram but, for my own wellbeing, I feel it’s important that I step away from that as a focus.

I will, of course, continue to blog about chronic illness when I feel like I want to (I still have much to say on Endometriosis, for example). But, I don’t want it to be everything I share.

I Feel Better Off WIth Minimal Social Media Use

The absolute bottom line is that I feel better off for getting rid of Facebook and Twitter (and minimsing my use of Instagram).

Giving up social media has been good for me and it’s created more time for doing the things I really enjoy, such as painting.

That’s not to say that social media is bad. It’s more that it’s just not for me personally and there’s only so much of it I enjoy.

Should You Give Up Social MeDia?

I think if you are finding yourself questioning if you should give up social media you should try it. Experiment with a social media detox.

Deactivate your Facebook and log out of everything else (and delete the apps).

You can easily log back in again when you are ready.

Or you might find you don’t miss them and want to delete your accounts; though there is no rush to do this. It actually took me a full year until I decided to delete my Twitter account completely.

Do You Need Social Media if you are a Blogger?

Finally, I want to go back to the point I made earlier that stopped me from initially stepping away from social media: the fact that I am a blogger.

Do you need social media if you are a blogger?

For me, the answer is evidently no. My blog has not been affected by my limited social media use.

However, there’s an important consideration to make here if you are a blogger.

Personally, I hardly ever do sponsored posts. However, if your aim with your blog is to work with brands and focus on sponsored work then a good social media presence is generally a must.

However, you don’t need to be on *all the things*. My advice would be to pick a platform or two that you enjoy and put your focus into those.

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Have you given up social media accounts? Or do you enjoy it? Let me know your experiences in the comments.

Further Reading:

• Why I am Taking a Social Media Detox
• Giving Up Social Media Accounts (Twitter & Facebook)
• 10 Strategies I Use To Improve Mental Health

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