Taking a Break From Social Media

Is it me or is social media not as fun as it used to be? The obsession with numbers ruins it – the number of friends, followers, likes, views etc. The sea of misconceptions, unrealistic ideals and fakes amongst us also ruins it. Hate comments and cyberbullying very much killed it. My last Instagram post/story and tweet were around mid-September, and it’s now December.

As a 90s kid, a millennial, a generation Y, whatever you want to call me, I’ve seen the rise and fall of social media over the years. Back in the days, apps didn’t really exist, phones couldn’t even connect to Wifi as this feature was simply non-existent. We all had to log in via our computers. Some were lucky enough to log in via mobile internet – back then it was called WAP. I remember it was ridiculously expensive to browse a very much dumbed-down, basic version of today’s internet.

MySpace, Xanga, Piczo were the ones that had started my addiction to social media. I would say MySpace was revolutionary; kicked started this whole social media evolution. I had never really gotten into Bebo, LiveJournal, yet I still had accounts, despite the fact I rarely logged on. The rise of Facebook resulted in the fall of Myspace. Do I regret not putting Tom in my top 8? A lot of the “original” platforms are now redundant, cease to exist. Remember the days when you’re in a new relationship and it’s not “official” until you’ve changed your relationship status on Facebook. Haven’t heard this for years. Now I’m sat here, behind the screen thinking about how much of our lives has been hugely impacted by social media.

In China, I’ve had people asking me why I’ve blocked them from seeing my moments timeline in Wechat (think FB/Twitter feed). The truth is, I haven’t posted a single thing. What every one sees is just an empty timeline. They would question why and whether I have other mediums that don’t require VPN such as Weibo. Nope, nothing, zilch, nada. I’m just lazy to open more accounts. Thus some people end up deleting me just because I don’t use WeChat moments. Ridiculous, stupid and petty. Cheers to making new friends! ~Insert my no f*cks given face~

I’m the type of person who isn’t constantly on my phone, checking social media whilst around people. I think it’s rude and leaves a bad impression.

I’ve stopped using Facebook since 2013, however, have kept my account open just for contact. And recently, I had felt the need to create a LinkedIn account like it was a “requirement” for adulting but in all honesty, I don’t use it. I’ve never really fully understood the craze with Snapchat and Pinterest from the beginning. All in all, Instagram and Twitter are the ones I’m checking and updating, well, up until around mid-September.

From the editing process to writing some sort of caption, uploading photos has become a chore now. I’m totally way behind uploading my travel photos, over 15 cities behind. You can say I’ve fallen out of love with Instagram. I haven’t even opened the app. It’s the same with Twitter. Sifting the truth from within a sea of lies is tiring. Stepping away from social media had allowed me to breathe the fresh air and rejuvenate. Let me tell you, it is bloomin’ great!

How long will I carry on for? No clue.

We all know that social media does have its positive and negative impact from a physical and mental standpoint. We choose to believe what we want and can be easily influenced by what others post. Everyone needs to step away and disconnect from this digital, fantasy bubble every now and again, to allow themselves to restore back to full health and to reconnect back to reality.