Reflecting on a Social Media Hiatus

Today is the last day of my social media hiatus (which I explain here and here). A lot of my reflection is similar to what I've already written: feeling disconnected but having more oportunities to be intentional about connecting with friends; realizing I spent A LOT of time on my phone; appreciating the time to focus on myself and pick up books I've been meaning to read, shows I've been meaning to binge, etc. 

For a bit of deeper reflection, one thing I realized I have missed are the "announcements" on social media. Friends post updates and news for mass-communication on Twitter and Instagram and I'm sure I have missed key events and missed things to congratulate. While these practices might, at times, increase stress and anxiety because you can't help compare (yes, I've been guilty of this; I've written about here), overall, I deeply appreciate this practice to celebrate people's wins— especially because in academia, the wins feel so few and far between. In that comraderie, I am thankful for the GroupMes and chats where I wound up still in the loop, and also yes, happy to be back in this way. 

To be honest, I didn't think I've make it. That first week was so hard, and again, really hard after I finished a conference last week. I had not-a-little bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) for what I know are all the post-conference social media funsies. But throughout the month, the inclination and temptation to go on social media slowly dwindled. I didn't realize how badly I needed this break and spend some time with myself. I heard silence for the first time in a while and in that silence, was able to hear myself. I'll likely engage in this practice more often. At the very least, it's affirmed that I don't need to check social media every day. Now, for tomorrow, I might feel differently depending on whether I have 0 or 10000 notifications, ha! 

---