Feature Friday: Why I Took A Social Media Break

Happy Friday! Look at me blogging THREE TIMES THIS WEEK. It’s a new record for the year I believe. I’m setting my standards high this year apparently. At least I have these two cute faces to snuggle with for one more day today before I’m back at work (4 shifts in a row before I’m home again).

I took a break from social media from Thanksgiving through the New Year and it was one of the best things I’ve done for myself in a while. I started feeling a lot of pressure from others on social media to ‘run x amount of miles’ or just constantly comparing my situation to others. I also found that I wanted more things when I was on social media ( thanks influencers). I also just generally felt tired of it- wasting time scrolling meaninglessly through photos or posts from people or devices that I may or may not know personally.

I wanted to get back to feeling free on the run and wanting to do things on my own terms- something that I felt like I lost when I would feel ‘influenced’ to go run big miles or big adventures, when that just wasn’t within my schedule or needs at the time. I also felt like I really struggled with missing Stella (our pup that we lost in August) and social media time hops reminded me of her often. So, I decided to take a week off social media in November after Thanksgiving and then, when December 1st rolled around- I really enjoyed the break so I decided to stay off until January.

It was honestly the best time away. I ran when I wanted to, didn’t compare my miles to my ‘past self miles’, took a break from fitness when I wanted to, and just enjoyed the time at home. I felt myself engaging more with others IRL and spending less ‘wasted time’ on social media. I did really miss connecting with some people/accounts on Instagram, but for the most part- I didn’t miss it. I honestly still struggle with the balance of not wanting to be on social media at all and wanting that feeling of connection that I get from it.

I’ve thought about only logging in on certain days of the week (currently I limit my time on it to an hour a day), but I’m still not sure where I stand with social media. I’d love to find a balance between it all and still enjoy not feeling like I ‘need it’ (which I definitely don’t). It was also super helpful to be off of it when I was still on orientation and starting a new career. Talk about a lot of stress- especially steeping into a healthcare role as a ‘newbie’.

I’m curious to know if you’ve taken a break from social media and what your thoughts were? How have you been able to find a happy-medium balance on it? Are there things you miss when off of it? I love the connections that I make on it, but also love the feeling of reminding myself to make more IRL connections! I also love the idea that I’m not mindlessly scrolling and ‘getting sucked in’ like I can when on social media.

-What are your thoughts? Have you taken (or want to take) a social media break? What do you love/hate about social media?