Axel Valdez

Design Engineer

Finishing my 30 days without social media

Hi

Today is the last day of my 30 days without social media. These are some bullet points of my experience:

  • The first two weeks were hell. I constantly reached for my phone and got frustrated. The fear of missing out (FOMO) was strong, but after two weeks, it was mostly gone.
  • I socialized a lot more in person: I went to the bar, invited friends over, and visited, too.
  • I got a feel for who is in my true immediate circle of people.
  • I didn't miss Twitter or BeReal too much after two weeks, but I kinda missed peeking into friends' and acquaintances' lives through Instagram.
  • I read a lot more and also watched more TV.
  • I reactivated my personal website and started writing again. If I had to choose one good thing only, this would be it.

I don't think I'm going back to using Twitter. I don't miss being angry about the polarized opinions of people I don't even care about. The people I do care about, I already follow on Instagram.

To be honest, I'm a little afraid of falling back into the addiction patterns and the emptiness from before. But also after thinking a lot about it, I don't think abandoning social media completely is even an option today. I need to keep the harmful dynamics of it in mind and find a balance. That's easier said than done, so I will keep tabs on it and reconsider in a couple of months.

Axel Valdez w