Life without social media
The last time I had a wonderful time without flaunting it on social media was seven years back. Yes, I remember it clearly because I was the last person in my family to open a Facebook account and there hasn’t been a moment of privacy since I made my debut in the social media world. I was a late bloomer (that’s how most of my friends teased me) but my social media usage slowly grew to such proportion that my friends and family knew what I was doing without even talking to me for weeks.
How I lost track of time
Interestingly, what started as curiosity slowly turned into a fixation. I had those sudden urges to share everything on social media. I was taking more selfies and sharing it with friends on Facebook than actually meeting them. No visit to the restaurant was complete without sharing my location. As a result, I had this feeling that 24 hours weren’t enough. I kept complaining about how distant I have grown from my husband, my family and friends.
Social media addiction is real
One day, I came across an article that said people can get addicted to social media and the habit of taking selfies can actually become an obsession. I would have never taken it seriously had my husband not commented about how lucky my laptop was because I spend more time with it than with my husband. That was the final nail in the coffin and I knew I had to stop this before the situation grew out of control.
The first two weeks were the most difficult
I decided to delete my Facebook account but not before keeping backups of all the photos and interesting posts! I had the urge to create an account just a few hours after deleting it. Trust me, it’s not easy. I even tried to log in from my husband’s account to peep into the virtual world. However, my social media usage was very limited now. The first few days were too early to predict if this extreme step would work to my advantage.
I had more time for my family and friends
As I didn’t have any distraction after returning from office, I could concentrate on my life—I picked up hobbies that I used to enjoy earlier. I was reading more books and cooked the dished we loved eating. It took me almost a month to enjoy the transition. Gradually a strange feeling of relief started sinking in as I realised how I had forgotten to live my own life because I was so busy peeping into other’s life.
I became less self-conscious
Interestingly, as the need to look photogenic decreased, I started growing less self-conscious. The changes were reflecting on my life—both personal and professional. I was more productive at the workplace and was spending more time with my family. I was no longer the person whose life was being controlled by a stupid screen. As days passed by, I hardly remembered the days that began with checking my Facebook messages. Three months were enough to make me realise the evils of social media obsession. Yes, I had to return to Facebook because my work required me to remain connected to the world through social media. But my second innings began with a warning: Social media is a part of your life, it’s not your life!
(All images used here are representational)
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