Monday, March 25, 2013

The Social Fast.


First it's Twitter and then Instagram, quickly followed by Facebook. Sometimes I scroll through an entire lapsed feed, sometimes I weed through and catch up with certain users. On a good morning, Google Reader is next and this is all before my feet touch the floor in the morning. All before I've had a chance to say good morning to my kids. Ouch.

Sometimes I'll catch myself scrolling through my Twitter feed, not even reading the tweets but feeling the urge to scroll and scroll and scroll some more as if swiping my thumb across the screen of my iPhone is somehow fulfilling. 

To fast is to abstain from food, or to limit one's food intake. You're probably most familiar with fasting when it is related to the consumption of food before a surgery or during a religious observance. I'm challenging myself to a different kind of fast. 

I'm challenging myself to take The Social Fast. To give up Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the week. As a stay-at-home mom in the throes of a winter that just won't quit, this is going to be harder than I believe some of you imagine. Some days Twitter is my only connection to adult conversation but the Twitter that I've been privy to lately is not a Twitter that I wan't to be a part of anyway. I'm hoping this makes my reprieve easier. 

I know I'm going to miss out on some things. Babies being born, breakfasts being had, perhaps even a few political rants and most of all, catching up with a few of my favorite long distance friends. For that I apologize in advance. 

I think cutting myself off from Instagram will be the hardest as it has easily become my most favorite sharing tool. But all of this sharing and peeking and liking and tweeting in on others' lives is exhausting especially on the heels of the blogging conference Blissdom. 

I will still be here writing and sharing through the blog after all, I can't just quit it all cold turkey and what else am I going to do with all of the pictures I take of the kids? But if you're feeling a bit too plugged in lately, feel free to take The Social Fast with me. 

I need a break as I have become way too dialed in. Way too dialed into the lives of people that I don't even know.

I have a feeling this is going to be harder than even I anticipate. 






24 comments :

  1. I deleted Instagram awhile ago and it's been extremely freeing. I do like to still post pics on Twitter, but it's nice to have 1 less app I feel that I have to check during the day. It gets exhausting!

    I'm finding that I have less and less time for FB and Twitter as my son gets older. He's almost 2 now, and very demanding of my attention all the time. I used to be able to sneak off for a minute or 2 and hop onto social media and he'd be fine, but not anymore. I'm mainly on during nap or bedtime now with the occasional fast tweet while L is playing independently. I don't plan to completely leave either one, but I'm finding I don't miss them as much as I thought I would because I'm so busy otherwise. I think it's a great idea to "unplug" once in awhile :)

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  2. Good for you lady! I promise not to post anything too exciting while you're gone;-)

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  3. I'm with you on Instagram. It's by far my favorite now and i'm not sure what i would do if I deleted.
    But.. I say that and in 2011 and the beginning of 2012 when I was battling infertility I gave up FB for 6-months.
    It was hard at first being out of the loop but I found myself a much happier person.

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  4. My husband says I spend waaaaaaaay too much time on social media and my netbook. He would probably be thrilled to hear about this. Maybe I should give him this as our anniversary present. For a week? Maybe?

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  5. I'm so glad you posted this. I have been considering a FB fast as well (I've so far resisted getting on instagram or twitter b/c I know myself and I would become consumed). I'm finding myself more & more frustrated with posts and I think I just need a break - and so does my family. Thanks for the encouragement!

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  6. I totally understand what youre feeling. I think I"m going to follow your lead and unplug while we are in DC on staycation this weekend. Just to truly enjoy it!

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  7. Sister! This is a wonderful idea! Sometimes, as sad as it is, I feel like I 'know' more about my IG friends than I do about my REAL friends! And that's AWFUL! Terrible! I can easily delete FB and TWITTER, but IG....ugh...I don't know about that one. It's a time waster, for sure. I'll LIMIT it. How about...I won't check it when I'm at home and with my family??? Cause that's who really matters. And after this mornings MELT DOWN (by me), I need to make better use of the time I have with Easton. Because my time is SO LIMITED with him as it is. I sure don't need strangers getting more attention than him. See ya on the flip side! xoxoxo

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  8. DONT DO IT!

    I'm jk :) can't wait to hear what you learn. I'm totally not capable....and by that I mean not committed enough.

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  9. I gave up FB this past December...it was hard at first but is so liberating now. I do find myself "missing" out on some news but I just remind myself it's usually about people I'm not even friends with for real....so does it even matter?! I am on IG and love it -- it's my only social media vice.

    But every Jan. my church has a 21 days of prayer and fasting and I always fast all social media. It is actually hard but it's so nice to re-focus on what matters!

    I will miss your IG post. ;) But enjoy your week!

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  10. Good for you, girl! I do that every now and then and it's so refreshing. I have a feeling it's time for me to do another one!

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  11. I totally hear you mama! I've been off FB for 3 months, I'm barely on twitter at all and IG is the only thing I check and it's randomly throughout the day- it really does feel good to get rid of a lot of social media whether it be for a period of time or permanently! I applaud you so much because it is a very admirable thing to do! Xo

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  12. I gave up social media, (twitter, instagram, and FB-not blogs), for Lent and it has been HARD!! I really did not realize how much of a connection it is to the outside world for a SAHM! My 1 year old has been sick for 3 weeks and it has not been fun spending so much time at home alone with him without social media. I think a week would have been a more realistic goal, hard enough that you miss it, but not miserable! ha! Good luck with your social media fast! :)

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  13. This is fantastic. I need to do this myself, they are so much of a time suck. I think I'll do it beginning tomorrow until next Tuesday, or maybe longer..

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  14. Good for you! Sometimes we just need breaks from things. FB drives me nuts so I just throw up my blog stuff and sign off. Luckily I haven't had an issue with IG and Twitter yet. It's hard for me to be on too much whole teaching, so during breaks I hit it up hard. Turns into a treat lol.

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  15. LOVE this. I will admit, I am so sad I didn't go to Blissdom, mostly because I would love to meet you!! :) Maybe next year. It is exhausting to keep up with all of the crazy apps/social network. I definitely need to unplug as well; like you said, it's hard when you're a SAHM. It sure has it's benefits, but mostly I am wasting time. Good luck--I can't wait to hear how your fast went!

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  16. Good for you, mama. Just today I read another blog post on giving up social media and for starters I have cut WAY back on my phone use in front of my kids, and yesterday and today I have stopped enabling push notifications for Twitter and Facebook on my iPhone. Sometimes I purposefully leave my phone charging in my room, especially in the evening so as to avoid temptation. It's sad how much I use social media....! My husband's an offender too, he's terribly addicted to Twitter, not that I can say much better for myself.

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  17. I gave up Twitter for the most part a long time ago. It takes up entirely too much time. I only use it now to update folks on blog posts for the most part (which I'm sure some people hate). I seriously need to stop checking FB. It's something I do without even thinking about it and most of the time it's garbage. I couldn't live without Instagram though. It's my one way to feel connected.

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  18. Great to meet you at Blissdom, look forward to stalking- errrr getting to know you on your blog. ;) Have a great fast.

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  19. I did this with Facebook (shortly after the election...could not handle any more!) and I can count on one hand the number of times I've looked at it since! Once I didn't check it I realized I didn't miss it at all. Instagram, though would be haaaard for me. Good for you for realizing what would better you and your family!

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  20. I did this a few months ago and have been barely involved in social media or even blogging ever since. It has been so stress relieving! lol

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  21. I actually wrote about something similar on my blog today. We went camping this weekend and the only time I got online was in the evenings after Andrew was asleep and Scott & I were getting ready for bed. I've found that when I step back from social media for a few hours, I often feel so much better! It is a hard addiction to break though.. i know I have a hard time. I"ve been trying to put my phone to charge at night when I get home in the evenings so I can devote all of my time to the family.

    Kudos to you!

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  22. I hear ya. But rather than remove myself from the conversations (which is admittedly easier to do) what if everyone was more responsible about the content they shared? For example, I try not to post more than 1 or 2 IG pictures a day. Oversharing is a major problem. I mean, could you imagine what our feed readers would look like if we all blogged 10-20 times a day? Craziness. Everything in moderation, I say!

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  23. Good for you! Sometimes life gets so busy I don't look at IG all day, or even days at a time. Although I feel like I've missed out on babies being born or other news, I realize that life went on anyway, and I don't need to experience every minute of it. Especially since it's someone ELSE's life. I do love IG but everything in moderation. Family is most important - enjoy them and have a wonderful Easter!! xoxo

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