Leaving Social Media

I took my first social media detox in November 2018. I decided to take a break for 30 days. It felt amazing and I learned a lot about myself and my use of social media. I returned to social media, as planned, determined to take the lessons I learned from the detox to mindfully interact with Facebook and Instagram. I had the very best intentions.

By May 2019, all my good intentions were forgotten and I found I was back to a place where social media was affecting me negatively. I promised myself that I would get back on track. (You know where this is going, right?)

Before long, I was back to what I perceived as an unhealthy relationship with Instagram and Facebook. Something needed to change. The pandemic hit. I used it as an excuse to stay 'connected'. Instead of feeling connected, I watched in horror as people tore each other apart online, saying things they would never to say to one another if they were face to face. 

In September 2020, I deleted my business page and told my personal "Friends" that I was drastically reducing my time on Facebook. I gave them a couple of ways to stay in touch with me, some responded, some didn't. This wasn't a detox and I didn't feel the need to write any articles or long posts about why I was leaving. It was just time. I deactivated my Facebook account.

When I left Facebook, I somehow convinced myself that I could still use Instagram mindfully. But honestly, I was losing my interest in any social media and made my last IG post on July 8, 2021. Again, this was done fairly silently-no fanfare or loud proclamations. I just stopped posting. I haven't participated in social media since.

I find it interesting that my exit didn't "stick" until I stopped making a big deal about leaving social media. When I detoxed previously, I felt I owed it to my friends and followers to let them know I was leaving. I also thought I would be more likely to stick to leaving if I announced my intentions in public. I was wrong on both accounts.

Honestly, I don't think anyone really missed my posts so telling them I was leaving was pointless. I don't mean for that to sound sad. There's just so much else out there for people to look at it that not seeing my feed wouldn't make a big difference to them. I'm as guilty of that as anyone else. When I used social media, I didn't notice if one of the accounts I regularly followed stopped posting.

And as for the accountability, I think that was a lie I was telling myself. If I came back from a social media detox on day 7 instead of day 30, no one would scold me because nobody was counting the days except me. It wasn't until I came to a peaceful conclusion about leaving social media for myself, and realizing that I didn't need anyone else to know, that I knew I was truly ready to make an exit.

So why am sharing all this now? Mainly, it's because I recently read this article by Gwenn Seemel about how 8 artists left Facebook and Instagram and thrived. Reading that article, gave me so much hope for all of us-that we can gracefully transition our businesses to a marketing plan that brings us more joy and connection. We can still make new, virtual friends and stay in touch with old ones. I loved seeing all their thoughts about their experience. I felt called to share not only because of the article, but also tell you the story of my exit. I'm not here tell you to quit social media-that's a personal decision. I'm here to tell you the ways my life has changed, mostly for the better, as a result of my decision to make a change in my life.

The story I want to share with you isn't really about closing my social media accounts. It's about my desire to change my life. To look at what isn't working for me and find new ways to do things. It's about being brave enough to go against the norm and find my own path. I loved reading all the artists' stories in Gwenn's article because they made me feel hopeful and I hope my story might do the same for one of you out there.

This is going to be bit of a long story and I know you don't have a lot of time, so I'm going to break the story up over a few posts. I hope you will take your time reading each post. Click on all those links. Go to your journal and think about what you learned, what the posts and articles bring up inside you. The lessons might not have anything to do with social media, but I'm hoping you might find some inspiration for finding your own path in some area of your life. Let me know what's coming up for you in the comments below and thanks for reading my story.

 Read more of the story....

How to Stay Friends Without Social Media 

Marketing Your Business Without Social Media