At the end of 2020, I thought it would be good to do a one month 40 Days Social Media Pause just to have tried it and see what it does. (Update: I intended it to be 31 days, but then felt like doing it for 40 days. Kind of like a fast. But only kind of.) A lot of people have been saying that it only has positive benefits. So, here I am documenting my Social Media Pause (almost every day).
Day 1
I had a little bit of slow down of 1-2 days because I took my social media gradually off my phone. Nevertheless, the first day felt new, unfamiliar, but interestingly freeing. More time and focus on family and work. I don’t need to check my phone this often anymore.
One of my students tried to reach me. But I am resisting the temptation of going back online. She’ll be fine and can ask me whatever she needs on Monday.
Having no Youtube is difficult (especially when today is the day when MrBeast releases his Youtube Rewind video), but that was expected.
Day 2
Nothing much has changed like the day before. It is extremely nice to wake up or come out of the shower and have almost 0 notifications! Very few distractions. It’s almost like, “what do I need my phone for?” Well, I’m not going to get rid of it of course. There are too many good reasons why I still need it. But the lack of additional mental clutter is extremely nice.
Day 3-5
I share with my wife and people at work how nice it is to take a break from social media. It is extremely nice to have only a few to almost no notifications at all whenever I look at my phone. I did watch some YouTube and had to go on Facebook to get some information and pictures for work. But I didn’t consume anything for fun. I don’t feel like I am missing out on anything. In fact, I don’t miss social media at all. People that really want to communicate with me can still do so through WhatsApp, FB Messenger, and text. I saw some videos pop up when I was on YouTube that I’d like to see. But they will still be there after the 40 days are over.
Day 6
Instead of social media, I clicked on my news apps. That’s a dangerous roulette game with my soul, I know. But today, it actually kept me up to date in a good way concerning the elections in Georgia and the riots at the capitol. Nevertheless, the news consumption needs to be observed.
Day 7
Today marks one week of no social media (for personal consumption use). YEEY! I made it.
Disclaimer: I do consult YouTube for work-related topics, or am on FB messenger, or to look something up. Both I and social media are able to keep our hands to ourselves and keep our interactions totally professional. From now on we are just working colleagues!
(Until the 40 days are over… Then we’ll probably be all over each other again.)
Day 8
Nothing much changed. I still enjoy the technological silence.
Day 9
I played games on my phone. So, yes – instead of endless YouTubing I played games on my phone. One could see it as a digress… I don’t.
Day 10
Still playing this stupid game. Alright, Holy Spirit, I get it. I delete it! (I agree: it’s a waste of time.)
Day 11
I realize how the news and/or Hulu/Disney+ take the place of the occasional mindless feed check. Dangerous. Especially with the endless “hope”, the News Media is spreading. Also, I couldn’t contain myself anymore: I needed to listen to a talk on YouTube about journaling and creativity. Don’t judge me; it was embedded into a blog. So, technically I wasn’t ON YouTube. It was just a video on a website. Does that count?
Day 12
Last night I picked up a comic of Calvin And Hobbs on my kindle. Super fun! Needless to say that my Bathroom sit-ins have less news feed thumbing and more comic read chuckles. Who wants to read or hear of the latest and greatest catastrophe while having somewhat of a quiet time, anyway?! Lol, Yes, it’s a good trade!
I love Bill Watterson’s comics. I can see my son and me in some of those scenes. That’s definitely going on the “recommended reads” shelf.
Oh, and we (Elijah & I) started “The Lego Master Show” on Hulu. Also great! Recommending that too, lol.
Day 13
Holding strong. Watched more tutorials for work and continued a talk on the same website from a few days ago. Now I know how to do thumbnails in photoshop, yay! But the YouTube algorithm almost had me with his suggested videos. I was able to resist it though. lol. NO, I WILL NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO NOW!
Other than that we’re all good.
Day 14
YouTubing for work. Again. All in measures though, nothing to worry about. Finished that talk I kept on tuning into the last days. It was like 1 hour and 24 minutes long. Spliced it up into small digestible increments. Pretty inspiring about creativity and creative work in general. Oh, and Elijah and I watched a few minutes of the Lego Masters again. We finished one episode and started another. The finished one was about blasting, throwing, or hitting the Lego built and creating a dramatic “explosion”. Pretty cool. Again, recommend it if you are into Legos
Day 15-19
Pretty much the same as the other days. I am now more thinking about advocating either for taking consistent times off of Social Media, like a fast. Or just pulling the plug altogether. I won’t do the latter. I do miss the chat interaction through Instagram messenger with my German friends. But such a “fast” does do you good once in a while.
Day 20
Today was the inauguration of president Joe Biden. The internet or rather social media probably went berserk. Something that just has to be filed under “things I missed out on”, or did I? (probably not, but ssshhhh)
Day 21
Found out about MeWe on Fox News. Apparently, conservative-leaning people leave Twitter, Facebook, and other liberal-leaning outlets in droves because of the censorship going on. Checked out MeWe and was positively taken by surprise. I can see potential in this. Deleted it though after I received a flood of notifications. That’s an off-turner.
Day 22
Everything is the same as the days before. Not much to report. And honestly, I didn’t document anything either. (Sorry.)
Day 23
Today, I had a date with my wife and I set her and her little side hustle up on MeWe. I downloaded the app (again) to help her sort things out. We had a good time sitting there in Starbucks.
It made me start to miss Social Media again. Missing being in the loop of things or just mindlessly enjoying some short-form entertainment on Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube. Only one more week. lol
Day 24
Not much missing today. Being busy and enjoying the lack of distraction. Overall I have to say, I get more done undistracted. Which is really nice. I read more blogs and chosen newsletters that I find inspiring or helpful.
Day 25
A former student dropped by to say hi today. Now I long for this period to come to an end. There are people that I’d really like to get in touch with again. Social Media can be a big distraction, but also a great tool to communicate.
Day 26
Today, I find out more about the whole issue with WhatsApp and their data sharing ethics, or rather the lack thereof. I am thinking about abandoning the whole FB clan altogether. They have all my data plus they analyze my writing, communication, etc. And all the secret agencies in the world can potentially have access to that. No, thank you. Apparently, Threema is the best messenger app option so far. At least that’s what this comparison and one of my best friends make me believe.
Anyways, it’s also my second day in a row (link to blog post revival) of posting on my blog. Today I posted about revival. And another post is prepared and good to go. This one was released a few days later.
Day 27-31
I again have missed documenting these days. But nothing much has fundamentally changed. My daily posting schedule on my blog is going strong. I do read one or another tweet through my emails. Twitter is so kind to try to lure me back into their meaty feed through their email notifications. I am considering extending my “Social Media Pause” to 40 Days, kind of like a fast. But I also wasn’t super radically committed throughout the 31 days too: Work social media and the occasional YouTube Talk were included. Oh, and I watched one Dude Perfect Video at my friend’s place on day 30 (on request of my 4-year old). So, it would kind of be hypocritical if I’d label it a “fast”. It was more like a pause. I did watch a lot of Hulu/Disney+/Prime Video. So… probably not. Let me sleep a night over it.
Day 32
I didn’t feel the freedom to go back into the juicy feeds of social media. I rather felt like extending it to 40 days. So, that’s what I’m going to do. February, 10th will be the day I will be back on the socials. Who knows, maybe God wants to show me something in the meantime!
Day 33
No big revelations today. Everything stayed the same. I do have the occasional urge to just get a quick and short dopamine kick from a short-form social media entertainment.
Day 34
I feel like God is working out a new, or renewed focus. I need it. Sometimes I feel like I’m all over the place with my goals, ambitions, and needs of people and my own. Oh, and a student asked when I’ll be back on social media. I bet I’ll be bombarded as soon as I come back. lol
Day 35
No time for social media today. Executed on the whole idea of focusing on goals and tasks today. Got some ads on the website and edited videos for my father-in-law/pastor.
Day 36
Another busy day. It seems like Focus is still the theme right now. I do look forward though to just go back on instagram.
Day 37-39
Nothing much has changed compared to the previous days. Instead of Social Media Disney+ has taken its place wasting my time.
Day 40
It’s the absolute last day of the 40 days Social Media Pause. Today I was excited to “get back into the loop” tomorrow.
Conclusion
I had days where I missed Social Media for just quick and simple entertainment or to keep in touch with people. I did enjoy not having so many notifications on my phone. But I realized that the main trap is more a habit of picking up your phone, than Social Media alone. I probably would have to break that silly habit altogether to have a more balanced phone usage. I do recommend doing a pause of one or the other or both once in a while. It is refreshing. You suddenly realize you have way more free time. Your thoughts are much less cluttered. Also, the Facebook clan is showing very suspicious behavior… The question remains for me: Shall I quit Social Media all together?
