Hello….
Day 1 has come and gone. I created the graphic above from a gif I came across last night, here. It ironically was timely, and since I like black and white iPhone lock screens, there you have it. It will be my lockscreen for the rest of the month. Now, have I totally disappeared from the network? No, I’m still posting my 100 Days of Code progress and these posts to Twitter, but gone is the activity of hanging out on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I made no major announcement of unplugging, save a public one to the Apple Watch Fitness Fans Facebook group. I have been a very active admin there and was convinced by two members I privately let know about this jump off, that I should tell the group. Other than that, i told the admins of two other Facebook groups I co-admin. Frankly, in general, I think people rarely care if you decide to take a break from social media or not. They are too busy involved with their social media feeds, and other things to notice…most of the time, anyway,
Today was a good day at work with respect to not missing scrolling social media. Had a brief, but good text dialog with DK today on how we are both doing on this sabbatical. With only one official day in, I’m already seeing how much ‘attention residue’ occurs from constantly stopping to check social media throughout the day, even for a few seconds (whether it’s the phone or via other media). I also realized that this habit is not just relegated to the convenience of a mobile device, but to the computer as well, seeing as though most of us are connected to the internet at work.
I was interested to see how soon I’d have withdrawal symptoms from being off of FB and IG….so far, none. The lack thereof (of withdrawal symptoms and not being on these two sites) is telling because it’s showing me, already, that it’s not as necessary as I thought (or subconsciously felt) it was. That said, once the true realization sets in (I’m being realistic in that it’s barely been two days in), I then have to realize how I will truly use the freed ip time to for the better. I’m slowy assessing it, not in what I will use it for but how I will get in the habit of basing my after work time to do so. After all, this whole thing, in the end, is about using time more wisely and productively. Using time not from a productivity gain approach but from an overall value gain approach.
Thanks for the read….I’m out.
::: oceans of rhythm :::
Doug
Now Playing…
Don’t be dismissive in regards to not missing FB or IG Brother. This is a different feel…a different vibe. I’m not missing either one. I think a small amount of folks will miss your posts…same as I. A small amount of folks will miss my presence and maybe that’s a cool thing. Maybe it will make me curb the people I follow.
Keep up the cool work.
D, you’re right re: being missed. There are a few members of the FB group I admin that said just that. Yeah, it’s always nice to be missed (virtually and IRL), but I was more talking the general aspect. After three weeks, let’s see if I get an email or phone call saying “Hey, just checking on you. I haven’t been seeing you post on ____________.” lol
I can’t tell you just how much I resonate with this post. The social media sabbatical is so necessary for me, in fact, I previously did it and it became a way of life. I wasn’t on FB and IG, I wasn’t ‘doing it for the gram’ I got back the freedom of being me. I also got back my time and would find that I would be spending time on my phone constructively. Then, I got this wild idea that I should get back on, this was 3 months ago. The first few days were weird coz I had no idea what to put as a status, I didn’t see the need of why I needed filters for my IG pics but in a few days I was back to my old groove of things. Hooked!!
I have nothing against being on SM, I won’t call it evil but it has this way of taking over your free time(present and future).
I’ve found that people who want to keep in touch with you will find you (and yes, it goes two ways). When I’m off the grid, I’m more intentional in my interactions and conversations and this makes communication a whole lot more meaningful.
I’ve disappeared again, and I’m getting used to it. All the best man 😉
Michelle,
Thanks for the read. I can’t even add to what you said because are vibing on this, trust me. I’m learning about some things, each day, because I’ve on done DDOs (as I like to call them) – “digital days off” – one day. Now, even into day 3, its different. Definitely thank you for connecting on Twitter as well. Let’s do this!
peace,
Doug