Social Media Detox: Day 4

The longer away from social media I am, the less I want to ever get it back. Life is just easier without it, easier and far less stressful. The biggest question I am beginning to face is what on earth am I going to do when it’s time to come back to social media? 

Overall,  I don’t want to be gone forever even though that sounds wonderful right now. Yet, I am to build my social media platform and begin creating a really strong community on Instagram especially. Therefore, I have to figure out a way to get back on without losing myself all over again. That will be by far the hardest challenge I face during this entire process. 

However, that challenge has yet to become a problem and I am currently thriving more than I have in the past few weeks. One task that I have had on my to do list for probably over six months was easily accomplished within thirty minutes. I feel excited about my future and the possibilities that I am currently facing. Without social media I don’t have anything to interrupt my thought process every couple of seconds, which may be the most jarring part of social media. Every couple of seconds we pick up our phone to check Instagram or another platform and instantly we’ve interrupted our thoughts and shortened our attention span. 

I wonder if people truly realize just how addicted to their phone they are. A friend of mine who did the same thing a while back was talking about how hard of a challenge this is and yet how life changing it can be. The world really doesn’t realize how detrimental social media has become to our lives. We’re living through a little glowing screen and forgetting all about the life that is happening all around us. 

The endless feeling of this break from social media is the very thing that is propelling me forward. I am excited about not knowing when I’ll return, I’m excited about the possibilities that I am facing, and I am so excited to discover more about myself than ever before. I truly believe this is the best way to start 2021 and might be the very thing that makes or breaks the rest of the year. The world is wide and the future is bright. 

In a book I’m reading currently, “Together” by Vivek H. Murthy, MD, it is all about community and is really speaking to me during this time of what seems isolation from a lot of my connections. As I dive further into the book (I’m especially looking forward to the next few pages which seem to be on the effects of social media on community) the more I realize I am completely and utterly drawn to human connection. 

It is something that I feel is ultimately missing from the world we are living in as well as in my life. I desire to dive deeper with people and to cultivate relationships that are real and meaningful. As I continue away from social media, I want to take time to really think about different ways I can cultivate community, both in person and online. Loneliness can literally affect our physical health as I am learning in this book and “human relationship is as essential to our well-being as food and water” (Murthy, 2020). Therefore, I want to not only be a photographer or a blogger, but someone who builds community and promotes meaningful connections.

Other than reading and work, my time has been spent creating a new image which is now finished and will sit there for the time being. It’s amazing to create an image and just tuck it away into a hard drive. It’s not going anywhere, no one besides myself and my mom have even seen it, and that is so freeing. There’s so much room for failure and being able to fail without the watchful eye of the internet. My next photoshoot is tomorrow morning and I am excited to see what I can create without the pressure of it being perfect. 

Oh and before I forget, I ordered a game from this really cool company called “We’re Not Really Strangers” and I’m super excited to explore it in more depth. The game is all about diving deep and has very interesting questions on all the cards and comes in this little red box that says Come Curious, Leave Connected on the outside. It has the potential to be a gateway to many deep and lasting conversations. I would highly encourage you to take a look at their website and their Instagram page (which was one of my favorites before I deleted social media). Here’s a question to think about from the game: 

What is something you wouldn’t want to change about yourself?

Until Next Time,

Lillian Merritt