It’s Time To Take a Social Media Break

How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen?

It happened all of a sudden. And it was the day before yesterday. Before plugging my mobile phone charger into the socket on the wall, I had this urge to deactivate my social media accounts and even uninstall WhatsApp (I do wish there was a way to log out of this app). The constant need to be available on WhatsApp for work purposes seems to be daunting. But I didn’t uninstall it. I have already disabled the notifications. So, I go inside WhatsApp only when I want to and not by being pulled by the app’s notifications. Back in 2015, I wrote a post about how I went without WhatsApp for two weeks. Though the post is kinda silly to read now, many teenagers who’d want to unplug would find solace in it, hehe.

Okay, back to the topic of unplugging. I deactivated my Instagram and Facebook accounts (though I don’t use the latter much, I still felt I should deactivate it). I had a kind of a low moment that night which made me rethink my priorities and how I am being productive. So, this is an experiment.

Is my social media usage deterring me from pursuing my passion in any way? Could I use that mindless scrolling time to do something useful? Could I quell the urge to go check my Insta account every hour? These are some of the questions I’d like to get answers for. I haven’t deactivated my Twitter account because out of all the social media accounts, Twitter is the best place for me to learn, create, grow, interact, and unwind. Twitter has never interfered with my creative process, unlike Instagram and Facebook. So, I am keeping it.

And what am I planning to do while I am away from social media and unplugging myself from the online world? Well, I am writing this blog post. I finished a 500-word short story yesterday morning for the Furious Fiction contest. I wrote a tribute kinda poem for a close colleague who’d be leaving soon. So, yes, I have been using my time wisely and I’m already loving this.

Just now I realized that I have to share one of the short stories from this blog on my Instagram Stories. But it seems I could do it after reactivating. No one is that desperate to read it. I wonder if people even read it. I have shared the link to my WhatsApp status. That should do for now.

I’m happy with this break and I hope to do a complete digital detox sometime in the future.

Love,
Kavya Janani. U