What a beautiful tool social media can be. You get to connect with your friends, family but also people around the world that you may have never met. You get to be inspire by others in your career, or motivated by some you follow. But at the same time, maybe its leaving you feeling overwhelmed, anxious, that you're not doing enough or simply not enough. Sometimes, it feels like others are passing you by while you're staying stagnant. We’ve all been there right?
When I use to hear people talk about social media in a negative way, personally I couldn't relate. I never really had a “bad” experience on it. I would get on, scroll for hours a day (yes hours, check your iPhone productivity) look at inspirational quotes, pretty hair pictures, and watch insta stories. Then put it down, and continue on with whatever I was doing. Until, about a month ago, I found myself feeling down, anxious, feeling like no matter how much I did it wasn't enough. I was overwhelmed. Those words, aren't words I use to explain myself, I never really have been anxious person, I'm good at prioritizing my task, I am busy behind the chair and I am a calm, positive person.
So when I stopped long enough, to check in with myself to see what was going on. It came down to one thing, Instagram. The people I enjoyed watching their stories, the ones who were motivating myself and others, were the ones that made me feel like I'm simply not doing doing enough. So that evening, when Wesley came home he knew something wasn't right with me. Over dinner, I sat there and cried. I cried about how I was feeling, and I thought back to how long this has been building up. We talked about the pressure I was putting on myself, and how it was effecting me. So that night, I deleted Instagram and Facebook from my phone.
The next day, I woke up with a sense of peace and calmness. I did my morning routine, headed into work early (because you're more productive without it) and went on with my day. I found myself in my 2 minutes of mixing hair color or at the front desk, I would grab my phone, swipe to open Instagram and go to the app that took its place. I did this multiple times that day without even thinking about it. Instagram became a habit I didn't even know I had. Since deleting it, I have logged in from my laptop or my phone browser, occasionally. But I have to intentionally want to log in. Now when I do scroll, I don't stay on but for 5 to 10 minutes at the max.
These are the five things I have learned since deleting Instagram from my phone:
1. Life goes on
Just because I deleted social media, that doesn't mean the world stopped. As funny as that is to say, it’s the truth. People will keep posting and sharing, liking photos, following people. My world didn't come to an end, it actually became better. Whenever you do something new, you are fearful. I was raised in the generation on social media. When myspace first came out, I would fight my brother over who was going to get on first when we got home from school. Then came facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, ect. Since my first iphone, I have had the apps, I have had these tools at the tip of my fingertips for almost 15 years (crazy huh?)
2. No one will notice
You know how many people have noticed I haven't been on? NO. ONE. When i have mentioned it to my friends and close ones, they haven't even noticed. The only people that will notice is yourself, and your ones you spend the most time with.
3. More productive and free time
My phone usage went from 3-4 hours a day on my phone, to 30 minutes. It dropped that drastically. And I was always the one that said I'm not on my phone to much. I had more time in the mornings, more time to be a better leader at work, time to work on projects at home. I had more time with Wesley, or to call someone when I was thinking of them.
4. Less anxious
Comparison is something we all struggle with. I am in the beauty industry, with a lot of extremely talented people. The first time i have ever been “bullied” on instagram was when we let one of our employees go. The words she chose to share about myself as a stylist really effected me. It shook me to the core. It hit me deep done into my bones, unfortunately i let them effect me. As much as i tried not too, those words hurt badly. It made me believe that I wasn't good enough as a hairdresser, and it was the first time I believed that about myself after being in the industry for 9 years. That was the first time that i saw social media as bad. Its easy to compare ourself with others. But you don't know the story behind what is going on with them. Or how hard they worked for what they have now. And sometimes we have to ask ourself, would we even want that? Most of the time, the answer is no.
5. More present
Being present, is one of the hardest things but most important tools in life. Its so easy when someone is talking to you, to be scrolling through instagram. And you could be half listening to them but also reading someones caption. It made me realize how many times we are on our phone around our loved ones. So this has been a nice reminder to put the phone down, and be with the people right in front of you.
Even if this inspires you to take a day a week of social media, or not be on it when you're around your family and friends. Our brains need a few minutes just to think nothing, instead of going a million miles a minute. Even if you decide to not get on it until a certain time, I have a feeling you will see a difference in the way you feel.