Do you keep scrolling endlessly through your social media accounts? Do you feel that your social media friends are doing extremely well and you are doing nothing in life? Yes, these are some of the issues which most of modern society faces, including me. Social media was the first thing I used to check when I got up from the bed and it was the last thing I used to do before I slept.
So, as of 20 May 2017, I uninstalled WhatsApp and deleted my Facebook account. I completely left social media for seven months and then rejoined. Now, I have control over my digital life rather than the other way around. This phase without social media made me realize how badly it had affected me physically, personally and mentally.
The journey hasn’t been easy and I have faced a lot of challenge during this journey. I’ve faced challenges like adjusting to a new lifestyle, loneliness, peer pressure and “Fear of Missing out (FOMO)”. During these times, my “why” motivated me to keep going at it and I was able to transform my life successfully.
More importantly, each and every one of us can take tangible steps to control our social media intake gradually. I would encourage each and every one of you to start by taking small steps like switching off social media notifications, practicing weekly/monthly “digital detox”, uninstalling social media applications from your phone and using the urge to text someone as a trigger for another habit etc. It’s important to be persistent with these small steps and always remember your “why”.
In conclusion, if my 21-year-old immature millennial self could transform my life by controlling my social media intake, then I’m sure that each and every one of you reading this could take the steps I’ve mentioned and transform your life.
What’s stopping you? Go, take a plunge and transform your life!
Best of luck! Happy “Joy of missing out (JOMO)”!