Embracing Freedom | Breaking Free from Social Media (LOH #168)

As the year 2023 was getting close, I, like many others, thought about my goals and things I wanted to get better at. In December, I slowed down and spent time thinking about my successes, my failures, and the lessons I learned in 2023. This self-reflection went on for a few weeks, and by the time 2024 rolled in, I had a clear picture of the changes I wanted.

Since I'm a Christian, I made sure to spend time praying and asking God for guidance. I wanted to figure out the direction I should take and what theme would work for the new year. I know it might sound a bit unusual to some, but my faith plays a big role in how I decide things in life. After praying about it I picked this scripture verse from 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 as my theme for 2024:

Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.

"Living a quiet life" - this is my theme for 2024. Have I been living a "loud" life all these years? Not in the literal sense, but my mental health has been chaotic for the past few years and mostly I'm the one to blame. Let me explain...

📱 Social Media Addiction 📱

Like many people in this world, I've spent forever glued to my phone, endlessly scrolling through social media. I hopped on the Facebook train when it first launched to the public in 2006. I might have been one of the first thousand people to sign up on Twitter. The pull of these online trends was crazy. I was so into it, thinking it was the coolest invention ever, a great way to stay connected regardless of our physical locations. And it was a great invention because it allowed me to stay connected with my loved ones.

Image source: Unsplash

But then, in 2023, things took a turn. For the first time in ages, it hit me how much I depended on social media for pretty much everything in my life - not just news, entertainment, and games, but also for that feeling of being accepted and approved. I started feeling a bit upset when my posts didn't get many likes or no one dropped a comment. On the flip side, I'd be over the moon when someone complimented my pictures, but feeling down when it didn't happen. That's when it hit me: I'd been living in a delusion and I had allowed social media to mess up with my mental and emotional health.

And not just that, because I was so addicted to it, I admit it affected my spirituality. I found myself spending less time in prayer and reading the Bible. I had unknowingly held onto this idol for years.

It was time for a swift and serious change.

📱 Social Media Detox 📱

I didn't wait until January to make that change. In December I deleted almost all of my social media profiles - Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok, Thread. I left my Instagram intact because I wanted to stay connected with my followers.

Honestly, this made me feel ambivalent but I cherished the newfound "freedom". The freedom to spend my time on more worthy things like spending time with family and friends (face to face!), reading books, working on my art, praying and reading the Bible, blogging on HIVE, and many more.

It's been a month since I deleted my social media, and even though I miss some interactions, I appreciate this quieter life. I no longer feel the need to constantly check notifications or get into pointless arguments with strangers.

I like that I can enjoy my life without feeling the urge to show everything on Facebook. It feels like I've gone back to a more peaceful and calm existence before all the craziness.

I look forward to seeing more positive progress in my life as I use my time wisely in the coming months. I have many things planned for this year but I think that should be a topic for another post 😉.

This is my response to the following question from the Ladies of Hive Community Contest #168:

Direction of life, what would you like to see altered going into this year?
Planned improvement in education, lifestyle living, personal progress.

That's it for now. If you read this far, thank you. I appreciate it so much! Kindly give me a follow if you like my content. I mostly write about making art, life musing, and our mundane yet charming family life here in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

Note: All images used belong to me unless stated otherwise.

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