I'm Sick Of Social Media

Time for a bit of truth: I'm sick of social media. Social media can be an absolutely brilliant thing if used correctly but it can also have a hugely negative impact on your life and mental health and I've experienced that to the fullest recently. No matter how many times I've tried to disconnect from the internet or avoid my phone, I always find myself scrolling aimlessly through instagram and twitter. Social media has become an addiction to our generation and it's an addiction no one wants to beat. 

I wake up. I check my phone, check my emails, check instagram, check twitter, check youtube. Repeat. This seems to be the recurring theme every single day and for some reason I can't get out of it. Even if I'm watching a TV show or reading a book, two minutes in I'll be reaching for my phone, without even realising, to do the subconscious mandatory social media scroll. 

I'm not someone who gets validation through likes or views, to be honest I couldn't care less how many likes I get, it makes no difference to my life whatsoever. I don't scroll through social media looking to see new followers or more engagement, I think I do it because I'm subconsciously looking for something more interesting than the last thing I read, something to distract me from life for a while. 

Loneliness doesn't exist like it used to in our generation. You can be completely alone yet have an abundance of entertainment and people to follow and live your life through theres. No one sees the danger in this until it's too late. You've spent so long on social media you've missed out on living your own life. 

Read: A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled 

I feel like I have social media drilled into me. Anywhere I go I immediately try and see if I can get a good instagram of myself or the surroundings, as if it's essential to make a perfect portfolio of my life online. I was in a cafe last week and I tried to pick the seat that had the best lighting so I could get a good picture for instagram. What the hell is wrong with me?! How have I gotten to this point where I live my life according to the standards of what's popular on social media. Not to mention the amount of time I spend applying filters in several different apps to make sure the picture blends in with my instagram theme. Life doesn't come with a theme! Who cares! And if I haven't posted in a week and I see my followers go down, it's like a subliminal pressure to please these strangers on the internet who I have no obligations to. It almost feels like I have a group of people that I have to go out of my way to keep happy. 

Part of me would love to delete all of my social media and disappear from the internet completely. Go off the grid, start living in the world. It's amounted to so much pressure and stress that I find it very hard to enjoy it anymore. I enjoy writing and being creative, it's just a shame that I have to be part of the social media circus that comes along with it. I don't want to completely disappear off the internet because it gives me a voice, it enables me to write about things I care for. I'm still trying to find a way to manage the stressful side of social media so I can still the enjoy to freedom of creating.

A great way for me to de-stress and relax when I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed is to read. Reading really relaxes my mind and takes me away from the pressures of social media. At the minute I'm reading The Year I Met You by Cecelia Ahern, it's a great a book and you should check out some of her other books if you're into reading too.

Social media gives me no fulfilment, if anything it has drained me and had a hugely negative affect on my mental health. I find myself in a negative headspace, more times than what's healthy, due to being attached to this thing that I can't seem to let go of. If I wasn't in the blogging/social media world I definitely wouldn't use any social media apps at all, but it's something that's mandatory in this field of work.

Read: Why I Quit My Job After 2 Months

I've never finished scrolling through social media and felt happy and inspired, in fact I'm always left feeling down and depressed from it. Yet myself, along with millions of others who are affected by it, can't seem to help it. We know it's bad for us but it constantly reels us back in without realising. It's an addictive cycle and it's one I've come to hate.

I guess I'm just tired of it all. I'm tired of being tired. I don't have a solution to it yet but I'm working to find a way to use social media more effectively as a work tool rather than in my personal life.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this and if social media has affected you in a similar way.