What I Learned From Deleting My Social Media

     Sorry that I haven't written a post in awhile! It's been a hectic week. I realized that it's been almost a year since I deleted my social media. I'll admit, at first it was so hard because I found myself going to look at my Twitter only to find that the apps weren't there. I would take pictures for my Instagram only to remember that I wasn't using it anymore. Here are 4 lessons that I learned in deleting social media from my life.

1. I wasted so much time on my phone

When I was using social media, I constantly had my phone out. I would waste countless hours organizing my Pinterest boards or stalking people's Twitter feed. According to a survey on Adweek.com, people between the ages of 18-29 spend 51 minutes a day on Facebook, 30 minutes on Instagram, 25 minutes on Pinterest, and 23 minutes on Twitter. Although that might very from person to person, overall that adds up to 129 minutes a day. That's a long time to be looking at the Internet. I now try to use my time a lot more wisely. I read my Bible in the morning instead of checking out my Instagram feed, and I might read a book instead of spending countless hours on Pinterest. Overall I have found that without social media, I use my time a lot more wisely.

2. I'm not as concerned about people's opinions

When I was using Instagram, I would take selfie after selfie with proper filtering to make sure that my picture was as good as it could be. I wanted people to like my pictures. On Twitter, it was important to get a lot of followers, retweets and favourites. Overall, we want to represent ourselves well with our social media accounts, and that's something that took me a little overboard. I can't tell you the last time I've taken a selfie. I find that I am a lot less concerned about what people are thinking about me. I want people to know me for the person I am, not who I portray over social media.

3. My life has a lot less negativity

It's no secret that social media is an outlet for drama, bullying and petty fights. When I was in high school, it was a rarity to have a week where there was no drama via Twitter. A lot of young people use social media as an outlet to create problems where they really don't have any place to be. People insert their opinions where their not needed, which makes other people want to retaliate their opinions too. Even if I wasn't participating, by reading that, I was allowing all that negativity into my mind.

4. I can enjoy "real life" a lot better

As a person who loved to use social media in my past, deleting it from my life was hard. I wanted to post things on Twitter all the time, and I saw so many sunsets that I would've loved to upload to Instagram. But not everything revolves around the Internet! I find that I can enjoy things in a new way because I'm not thinking, "Oh, how can I fit this into 140 characters?" or imagining how I word my Facebook status about it. I don't have to worry about letting the Internet world in on my personal life, and it's kind of a freeing feeling.

Overall, I have really enjoyed my time without social media. My friends ask me if I will ever use it again, and honestly I don't think I will. I know that lots of great things come out of social media, and I wouldn't think badly about anyone who uses it because I think that it's awesome how many amazing things can come out of public attention. But for me personally, the lack of social media in my life has really been a positive change. My challenge for social media users is to just be careful - don't spend hours a day on the Internet and enjoy the life God has given you. Remember that each day is a gift, so don't waste it. :)

Stay excellent!