“Disclosure: This post was sponsored by ABC through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about ABC Selfie, all opinions are my own.” This truly was a game changer for me and although it was sponsored, I would do it again!
I’m addicted to social media. There, I said it. I think most of us probably are addicted to it. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. Social media is how I met my husband, it is how I make a living, and is how I am able to stay in contact with friends who no longer live close to me. However, there are plenty of times that I know that I miss out on conversations that would be much more worthwhile if I took a step back from my phone and really listened or if I put the phone down to do an extra activity with my daughter.
That is just what I did one day. I took a social media cleanse. I was inspired by the new show on ABC called Selfie. It is about a girl named Eliza Dooley who is obsessed with the amount of followers she gets, likes she has on her pictures, etc. She loses her touch with reality and wants a cleanse! The show is about her journey to become someone who can have real conversations and relationships, without social media. When I watched the pilot episode, it really hit home for me. Not that I have had as many crazy events happen to me like she does in that episode, but I could kind of relate somewhat.
I decided that I would do a social media cleanse. I didn’t turn my phone all the way off, but I put it on silent. Because I do work online, I did allow myself to check my email during the day, but I didn’t do it as often as I typically would. I also didn’t allow myself to get on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter all day long! It was pretty hard at first. I think it just became such a habit that I often times didn’t even realize that I was about to get on social media until I found myself opening up my social media tab on my phone and had to stop myself!
Once I got over the initial shock, I realized how nice it was to be able to take a step away from social media for a day. I was able to have fun with my daughter distraction free. We played, sang songs, and enjoyed lunch together.
I drove to my parents’ house and saw my grandparents while I was there. Normally, I probably would have zoned out after a while and checked my phone while they were there. Instead of checking my phone, I had meaningful conversations with them. It was fun to be able to talk to them without the distraction of phones… well, at least not my phone. It is always fun to see them ask questions about their smartphones while my dad tries to help them figure out their questions. That alone was worth putting my phone down to watch!
I partook in a social media cleanse and guess what? I survived! It was almost strange looking at social media the next day. Of course I went back to looking at my phone, but I feel like I am able to take a step away from it for longer periods of time now. I realized how important it is to take a tech break and spend time just enjoying life.
Can you believe that all of that came from one episode of a comedy? Who knew that you could have a life changing moment over a funny TV show! Check out Selfie on ABC starting on Tuesday, September 30th at 8pm/7pm Central. You can even do what I did and watch the pilot episode online before it airs on TV.
Could you handle a social media cleanse? Have you watched the Selfie pilot?