In March 2020, I “gave up” social media.

It wasn’t because of all the data showing it’s hurting our mental health.

It wasn’t a challenge to myself.

Heck, it wasn’t even intentional.

Rather, I found myself with a 2-month-old and a 2-year-old and NO childcare. Like many
parents at that time, I would take care of them during the day and then spend nap time
and evenings working.

There was no spare moment, so it wasn’t until about 8 weeks in that I realized I hadn’t
gotten on social media for a couple of months.

Then I did, and I hated how it made me feel – having not been on for a while, it was very
clear that it did make me feel worse. Like there was something happening OUT THERE
that I was locked out of.

On a whim, I deleted the apps, reasoning that if I really wanted to sign on, I’d just
download them again.

I never did.

There are definitely downsides.

I know less about what’s going on with tertiary friends, but it turns out I know much more
about my close friends because I have more time to connect with them.

I am fairly ignorant when it comes to current trends – but those change so quickly that
keeping up doesn’t seem worth it.

Colleagues, especially those in my field, look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them I’m
not on social media. “How can you do this work without building a following on
Instagram? TikTok? Facebook?” they ask.

The extra mind space allows me to create higher quality work. The kind of work
that helps people and, as a result, they share it.

The thing I like the most about not being on social media? I’m HERE.

If I’m with you, either virtually or in-person, I’m WITH you.

I have more memories with my kids, a better relationship with my spouse, more
conversation with my closest friends, and am less harried because my mind isn’t
juggling so many things.

In many ways, it feels like I’m living in the 90s. I love it.

Note: I am on LinkedIn for work, but have been intentional about treating this like a
meeting (scheduled on my calendar, do this on a desktop) so it doesn’t feel like social
media per se.