Social media is like cigarettes and alcohol. Toxic. Addictive. Yet widely accessible. Everybody knows it’s bad. Everybody knows that it’s wasting your time and polluting your brain with envy, jealousy, and resentment. Yet again, nobody is trying to prevent it – nor take the steps to withdraw. The benefits of using social media, it seems for plenty of people, are far greater than the benefits of staying away. Well, after saying no to cigarettes and alcohol after 7 years of obsessive use, I also decided that it’s time to take care of my mental health. For a bit over 3 years, I’m not using social media.
I did it because I was afraid. Terrified, of the idea that one day I will wake up, and find that my life was wasted.
Spent linking pictures of people going hiking instead of going hiking myself. Perished on commenting under posts about social change or doing something meaningful instead of actually doing something meaningful. Endlessly scrolling through pictures of people having a good time instead of doing something fun with my friends.
The way we spent our days, everything we do, even the simple things, is the way we spent our lives. And gosh, if liking pictures and thinking about what to share next consumes a large part of your day. Then, I think, that a large part of the day is wasted in a senseless imaginary virtual world.
But I was not always like this. Before my life after quitting social media, there was a chapter in my life where, I, too, thought that every meal and outfit had to be posed, captured, and tagged.
Why did I Use Social Media?
Not that I was particularly obsessed with social media. I wasn’t a fan at first. But after joining Facebook, I don’t know when, probably in 2009, it quickly became part of my life.
I’m sure you know why that is. The slick design. The ease of use. The sense of belonging and connection. And yes, the social validation going through your whole body. Energizing your empty soul, secretly seeking for meaning, after posting a picture and receiving a flow of clicks on your post – the beloved like!
Back then, I wasn’t so involved in reading about behavioral economics and human psychology as I am today.
It was strange to me. And I didn’t know why, but I was so obsessed with checking my notifications.
Hey there, sorry to interrupt…
Since you’ve come this far, it seems that you are passionate about pursuing depth over distraction. I am too! And while what I’m about to say next probably won’t quite excite you, I have to say it…
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- Our emotions govern our behavior. From Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
- The more something is easier, the more it will be desired. That’s why, if you want to escape your bad behavior, you should make the desired thing easy to do. This is from Atomic Habits.
- The brain is the most important part of our body. Saving energy is a top priority. This is something I got from Brain Rules by John Medina.
- In Thinking, Fast and Slow, the author explains why we can’t satisfy ourselves with what we have.
- We hide our selfish nature behind altruistic behavior. This is something I learned from the book The Elephant in the Brain.
