Why I Am Taking a Break from Social Media

It was not a big deal at first. I would spend part of my morning, posting, sharing, and keeping up with everybody. Then every time I was bored or I had free time, waiting in car ( parked of course, ha!), or in line at the grocery store, just to kill time. Then it revolved around my business, uploading, posting, sharing my story, my products, and services. Who needs a desktop or laptop anymore to run a business, where I can do it all from anywhere, at any time with my phone. I called it " maximizing productivity on the go". Soon, it became a whole day affair that knew no time or place, no boundaries and like an electronic shackle, never leaving my body, going everywhere I go except the shower, and even there, it was always at arm's reach. Waiting for the next message or notification, I would jump right to it, salivating, like Pavlov's dog.

Like an addiction, it took hold of me, constantly feeding that dopamine loop of more and more. Checking constantly to see who is online and when, who liked my posts, who commented, and who shared it. First I turned off the ring tone, just on vibrating. Later I jumped at the phantom vibe reaching out inside my pocket and will turn back around halfway if I forgot the phone at home. Still no biggie, I needed this for my business and to keep up with my friends and family, right?

Yes, it's me social media, not you, I admit it. I love to stay connected with my friends and the latest of what's going on around me. I enjoy seeing and sharing positive messages and videos of the things I like with the people I love. The need to stay connected right now during these uncertain times is real and so is the need to disconnect from it all. Too much of a good thing can turn into a bad thing. I realized this when the first thing I do when I wake up is to check my feed and the last thing I do before go to bed is looking at the black mirror one more time. The scrolling became a pastime, taking too much of my precious time which I willingly gave up for the sake of being entertained with the next cool thing, the next post. One more swipe here and then I: go to bed, get out of bed, go to work, go and do this thing that I have been putting off since last week and the ultimate offender...paying attention and being present for my family. I need a break , for how long, I don't know but need to strengthen the discipline to set up and follow through healthy boundaries and pay attention to the things I value the most, which are not things at all, but people. Real, face to face, uninterrupted, quality time without distractions and dedicate time to take care of myself.

I will never say forever, you know me very well by now. I see the value that social media provides, especially for my business. I will continue to post on my business pages on Facebook and Instagram but using another platform like Crowdfire, Hootsuite, and Buffer for each of my pages without having to open the Facebook or Instagram app. It is just my personal page, so no biggie, right?

Those who want to reach me, you can do it via my business pages, my website, or by calling me directly, like the old days.