“Sometimes the best way to recharge our batteries is to unplug them”
I’d never have guessed the following of this statement would feel so good.
This weekend I decided to disconnect from the online world and spend 48 hours in the ‘real world’ – no social media, no connection with people (unless face to face) and more importantly, experiencing life beyond a screen.
Let’s be real, the majority of us struggle to go about our day without scrolling an uncountable amount of times through our social media channels finding out; what Sally’s having for dinner, Jo’s daily rant, photos from ‘the night before’ and quite literally Keeping up with the Kardashians. Half the time we aren’t even reading what’s infront of us, we are simply just putting our thumbs through daily exercise and opening and closing the same 4 or so apps and scrolling through because that’s what our minds are set to do. Thats the problem with social media. Unlike a book with chapters, or a tv with weekly episodes, social media doesn’t have a stopping cue, we are drawn to consistently refreshing our continous newsfeeds. If you can read this and say ‘me’ then I salute you but who actually wakes up in the morning and gets out of bed without having checked all forms of social media first, then doing the same again before going to sleep? Sad isn’t it.
Anyway, the realisation that social media is rapidly taking over mine and many lives combined with the fact I’m super duper stressed at the moment stemmed the idea to go on a weekend ‘social media detox’ and my god am I glad I did.
At first it felt quite tough, I was having serious FOMO and hated not knowing what was going on in my social world. However, after a couple of hours it was apparent it was a decision well made. I discovered that life beyond the screens is more colourful, richer and far more interesting. I found myself having better conversations with people and was living in the moment. I’ve managed to get things done, appreciate time with family and honestly feel more energised from it.
In the past 48 hours I’ve enjoyed real morning conversations with my family without the interruption of screens, I’ve gotten myself out of the house to enjoy the wonders of nature, I’ve managed to catch up on blogs (to be posted), enjoy some runs, write some letters to some dear friends and have some proper me time with my favourite candles, country music and some colouring!
Don’t get me wrong, screens are fantastic. There’s an app for absolutely everything and it’s an easy and convenient way to keep in touch particularly for me with my friends in America however, it’s important not to get trapped. Remember, there’s a life behind a screen, a life far more brighter and richer and one that’s worth enjoying unplugged for at least a small part of each day.
Sometimes we need to disconnect in order to reconnect with what matters.
– A
Dreams to Departures 