Now I might be wrong, but I’m guessing you might be reading this as part of your regular diet of social media – but have you ever stopped to consider just how much of your time is taken up with this aspect of our new normal life?
You may have noticed that I’ve been conspicuous by my online absence for the past couple of months. However, I’m not going to apologise for my lack of recent content. It was a necessary – and very worthwhile – break back into the real world.
Because as 2021 galloped away with us – restrictions and all – I slowly started to realise just how much of my time social media was taking up. So much so, I came to appreciate only when I stepped away, that it was actually overwhelming me and beginning to rule my life.
Posting, messaging, responding, reading about others’ achievements (funny how we don’t hear much on the failures!) – or stress – stressing myself comparing my lifestyle with the (apparently) glamorous ones others are living, being told what I should/shouldn’t be doing/thinking, being side-tracked down avenues I was not in the remotest bit interested in…you know the score. Until you lift your head from out of your device, you won’t actually realise just how normalised this way of life has become.
However as an inspirational speaker I have to use social media as otherwise I will fade from peoples memories and that would be the end of my business.
But now I know… clarity has snapped my focus back in. I also know there’s a lot of noise out there, noise I don’t need or want in my life. And in truth, you probably don’t either.
What this break has re-taught me is that material I encounter in whatever format online should enrich my life…it should enable me to learn something or inspire us to re-look, reassess or improve an area of our lives.
There’s too much white noise out there and we’re all taking it for granted – accepting and allowing ourselves to be held captive for hours every week when, I now realise, those hours are precious to us and could be put to much better use.
Have you ever checked those weekly screen time messages we receive? Frightening. I doubt any of us, if asked, would set a goal of spending that amount of time on an activity which often sees us metaphorically (or literally on occasion) shouting at the screen, wound up unnecessarily by the views of others and all at the expense of achieving successful outcomes in other important areas of our lives.
To a greater or lesser extent, like it or not, we are all addicted to this 21st century phenomenon. We are SM Junkies!
My break has proved to me that it’s OK to step away from it, recharge, revisit what’s important to you and come back more focused and aware of what you do and don’t need to engage with.
From now on, I’ll be having strict words with myself and engaging only to enrich my life (with what I read) and others (in what I post)…quality over quantity.
Call me old school, but especially as we start to create our new normal lifestyle, I’ve got better things to do than sit all day scrolling through updates on the lives of people I’ve never met…like getting out and about meeting real people rather than sitting in front of a device.
This particular SM Junkie has had her de-tox and is ready to look at things with fresh eyes.
By the way, I’ve just re-vamped my website!
Excited as it is so fresh, clean and, above all else, simple.
Do check it out at pamwarren.co.uk – let me know what you think.
