Remember waiting in line before smart phones? Remember when your cell phone dying didn’t feel like you were cut off from the world? When’s the last time you turned your smart phone off, not just airplane mode or do not disturb?
I’m not anti-smart phone - I love being able to google any question that comes to mind and checking the filmography of every “that guy” I notice in a movie. But social media in particular swings between the extremes of the best and the worst of the internet. And I find the more I spend consuming other people’s “content,” the less I enjoy my own company.
Last year on October 1st (my birthday!) I deleted all the social media apps off my phone. I spent a month away from my personal and business social media accounts. It was embarrassingly hard at first - I picked up my phone countless times to check Instagram, scrolling for the app with automatic muscle memory. It was interesting to observe when I reached for the phone - usually when I was anxious and wanted to zone out, or when I had “nothing to do.” Or, I was muling an idea over and turned to Instagram for ‘inspiration’, and then immediately got distracted and found myself lost in the social media sauce 40 minutes later.
I was also deeply concerned about what would happen to my business if I logged off for a month. Would people forget about me? Would the algorithm punish me when I tried to post again? Ultimately, I decided I’m a human being first, a business owner maybe fifth, sixth, or tenth in the “who am I?” line up. And a social media break was best for me, humanity wise.
This year, I was looking forward to the great log off more than ever. This month has been BUSY, with a trip to Colorado for yoga therapy training and then a road trip vacation across the southwest. Not having to worry about social media posts and metrics and all the recently invented jargon of having a business in this modern age feels like a real treat.
But the thing I’m savoring most this social media vacation is the boredom. It’s so great to be bored again. It’s great to exist and observe and think without immediately getting 40 different opinions, ads, and “suggested reels”. Boredom is an essential part of how we mentally process the world around us. Boredom is the fount of creativity. Insights bubble up in the middle of the mundane - hence “random shower thoughts.”
If our eyes and fingers and brains are constantly preoccupied with the endless feed, when do we get a chance to imagine, determine, and decide? Social media can seductively take away our skill of discernment. We see the highlights of hundreds, maybe thousands of other peoples’ lives. The advertisements are uncannily tailored to our tastes. The “for you” suggestions guide us down a funnel.
Again, I’m not anti phone, or even anti social media. But I love this annual reprieve because it reminds me to stay aware - am I using social media, or is it using me? Boredom gives my mind a chance to voyage forth. If you’re feeling a little mentally stagnant, my prescription is a nice dose of getting bored!