Welp, it’s been one year without social media. All in all, it’s been great. It’s funny because at the start of this journey I was really worried. To be totally transparent, I kind of thought my social life would crumble, as well as my business. I thought people would be upset that I’m not watching their online lives, etc, but that wasn’t the case.

Here’s some reflections on what life without social media was like for those who are curious. I’ll admit, I wasn’t perfectly without social media. I took a few peeks towards the end, but for the most part it was a year without social media. I’ve split it into 5 easy categories:

Creative Patience: drastic increase

It would be hard to overestimate how much growth I gained in the area of creative patience and planning. With the absence of social media, I had no need for daily approval and I could think bigger and more long term.

Individuality: drastic increase

My individuality went up simply for the sheer fact that I did something most people aren’t currently doing. I think the break gave me more time to self reflect and find my own path.

Social Relevance: slight increase & slight decrease

I had to really think about this one. It was my biggest fear with leaving social media. I sort of thought my social life would crumble. I thought most people would forget about me, and I wouldn’t get invited to any events, but that’s not how it went. Although my digital presence did drop, I honestly can say my real social life picked up. I attribute this to caring less about what people thought of me and a drastic decrease in comparison.

Confidence: no change

Leaving social media and continuing to create journals and paintings probably gave me a boost of confidence at the beginning, but that high faded after about 3 months. Confidence fluctuates and even the most confidence people have doubts. Life is about working through those doubts regardless.

Happiness: no change

Ahh… happiness : ) … Like confidence happiness fluctuates daily. Leaving social media won’t cure all of your problems, however, it may force you to finally see and face ones you weren’t aware of, or had been avoiding.

Advice

If you’re thinking about taking an extended break from social media, do it. It will still be there when you get back, and you probably won’t miss much. If you use it frequently it will probably be pretty tough those first 3 or 4 weeks, but after that it gets easier. In my experience, results kind of level off after about 3-6 months. As I wrote earlier, it’s not going to fix all of your problems, but it’s still worth doing. It’ll probably help you to learn some things about yourself and find other creative ways to entertain yourself. Cater your break to whatever you’d like to do. I still watched YouTube, even though it’s technically social media, because I have never felt like I’ve checked it compulsively. It’s like watching TV.

Also, I suggest trying to substitute that time with something else. It’s really tough at the beginning otherwise. I substituted mine with journaling, editing videos, reading, drawing, and painting. I had quite a bit to keep me busy, and something to show for it at the end.