I never thought I’d need a social media detox, but here I am.

Last night, I deleted my social media apps. That includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Clubhouse. As I type this out, I realize that I’m pretty active on 5/6 of those. I’m barely on Clubhouse but deleted it in case I felt compelled to go there to get my dopamine hit.

I’m self-isolating right now before an international trip to avoid getting the Vid. And I started seeing myself spending so much time scrolling, looking at notifications, and thinking about more content, that my brain finally reached overload.

I think social media is great. I’ve made so many beautiful connections that way. And, I started to feel like a mosquito. Seeing what I could prick and get. I don’t want to be a mosquito. I want to be a butterfly. I want to be a flower. I’d rather choose a rhythm that feels good in my body…and a mosquito is not it!

Almost immediately after I deleted the apps, I started to think of ways I can simplify how I communicate. This will be something I’ll be considering a lot over the next few weeks. At the time of deletion, I thought I’d be back Monday, tomorrow. Then I thought I’d just post content through a browser instead of the app. Then I thought I’ll just schedule posts ahead of time and only show up on Wednesday. But I’m going to just sit with this. Honestly, writing on this platform is something I haven’t done lately because I’m on social media!

So you might be hearing more from me here. There might be fewer mini hypes and more longform pieces. I’m already seeing that I can commit to one idea for longer when I’m not being bombarded by new ones. There are so many ways to be in the world without scrolling. I know people have talked about social media cleanses for awhile, but I never felt the need…until now.

I felt wildly validated in this decision when I pulled the two of wands this morning from my tarot deck. I try to pull a card most mornings and journal on them based on Kait Fowlie’s definitions and journal prompts.

This is what it says for the two of wands (italic emphasis mine):

TWO OF WANDS

Mantra for the two of wands: “Take your world into your own hands.”
Description: This card is all about launching into the world after a stage of personal discovery. You now have a firmer idea of what you truly want, what your unique talents are, and how you might want to ‘make the world yours.’ Start putting together your plan for personal success. Have patience and stay focused. Invest in your growth and development. Be willing to step outside the familiar and explore your influence.
Journal prompts: How do you exercise your influence over the world around you? What does your ‘future self’ do on a day to day basis that makes them so badass?

The word “influence” outside of the context of social media is WILD to me. My influence isn’t determined by the tool I choose, it’s who I am and how what I share is received. And now I get to think about how I exercise it even more. As a small business owner getting myself off the ground, social media has been tremendously helpful. And it also has effects how I produce. While I don’t necessarily think of “Instagram reel ideas”, Instagram and TikTok allow me to share what comes to me as it comes. BUT, now I’m wondering what would happen if I wrote those ideas down, and connected them more. Maybe I could share snippets afterward…or not. Since the tool is there, I’m using it. But it doesn’t have to be that way. How will the way I share shift by creating boundaries around these platforms? How can I be interdependent with them instead of codependent?

The short-form of social media has taken me away from writing in a way that feels more fully developed. So I’m taking the world in my hands to see where this takes me. This will mean boundaries of some sort, I’m not sure what.

So tell me, have you tried to have boundaries with social media? How did that go? I’d love any insight or ideas around this!

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I deleted social media, pulled a tarot card…