How do we switch off in a world that is constantly on?
Updated in 2020. Checked over in 2024.
This post will speak to two types of users. Those of us who use social media for business and blogs. And those of us who use for leisure or personal use. I have made conscious changes over the last few years to be more aware of how I spend my time between the two worlds – online and offline. By doing so, it’s opened up a field of research that not only touches on social media but humanity itself.
While I may refer to social media multiple times in this essay, you can also replace it with other things like phones, technology, work, a passion, fitness routine – basically any habit that may be pulling you away from the present moment. At first, this may seem challenging to understand. How can a fitness routine take us away from the present? As we dig in, it will make itself known.
The questions I ask myself when I have a social media break every year:
- How do I spend more time offline and stay connected online?
- Are my social media, phone and technology habits healthy?
- Why is important to be aware of how I use these mediums?
- What are the positive and negative aspects of social media?
- How do I keep a healthy balance?
- How does being mindful lead to a healthier lifestyle?
These are important conversations to have right now as social media and technology evolve – rapidly. But also the pace of our existence especially with the Westernised lifestyle. It’s interesting to note that when I spend days completely off the grid, I feel happy, energised and excited about life. When I spend too much time online I feel flat, irritated and distracted. My productivity also goes out the door.
There’s been times when I want to just drop off the grid completely but honestly, it’s a blessing to be able to write and share material online and connect with people worldwide. It’s also been an awesome tool in organising group hikes. So, the answer is not living in a tree. It’s finetuning the way we use these tools and ensuring that we spend time being present, not always looking down at our phones.
Being that technology is still fairly new, the effects of social media and technology on the mind is not a saturated area of research yet. I’m sure with time this will change. When I was researching for myself, I found the resources limited and more or so, from the perspective of users like myself. There is a need to talk about it openly so that we are mindful about how we evolve with technology.
You May Like This Post: How To Stay Grounded (Present) In a Fast Paced World
The benefits of taking a social media break every year:
1. Beware of distractions (and disguised distractions!)
A big energy zapper is distraction, which is at the core of this essay. Even the smallest distraction while engaged in a task can be detrimental to what you are focusing on. It may not be possible to be completely free of distractions depending on your work environment or task at hand. It’s probably no surprise to you that social media and our phones can be a distraction. But why is it important to be aware? I mean, what does it matter if we check our phones while we are doing a task?
I wrote an article about practice and engagement here: Practice Is Important For Your Productivity & Creativity
2. Just because the world is fast does not mean that is how we are meant to operate
Trying to keep up with the world around us can leave us feeling out of tune with ourselves. That’s where social media or a high pressure environment can sometimes be unhealthy for our growth and journey. We may be looking at people’s lives online or surrounded by people in our workforce who work non stop and feel this anxiety to keep up. If we are too busy trying to fit in with the speed of everyone else (especially social media) how do we know that’s what’s intended for us?
3. What are we missing out on?
While on my social media sabbatical, I started thinking about the days when I was younger playing the piano and singing for hours on end. I didn’t have any distractions. I’d draw for hours without input. Just simply creating and expressing myself. After writing and practising songs more times than you can bare to listen, I’d perform live in front of an audience. And I was always ready. Nervous sure. But always ready. People often commented on how the song moved them in a deep way and the hours of practise (and slugging it out) was totally worth it.
When we are constantly distracted or checking our phones, we may be preventing ourselves from deeply engaging in our work and creating something that really moves people. One of the reasons I stepped back from writing on social media to focus on this blog was to go deeper and to bring back that practise of depth and crafting a skill.
While I don’t remember a time when I did have notifications on (because they are down right annoying), having my phone near by while working can easily turn into a distraction. Putting it in another room and limiting the times I check it makes a positive impact on productivity. It also means you get into that state of flow, which I beleive is where the real creativity and ideas can come together.
4. Be more self-aware; We are in the world but not of it
As indivuduals we need to be mindful of who and what we are following. Are we following trends and lifestyles that are popular but will fail us when the next thing comes along? Are we neglecting our own voice because of what’s out there? Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s right, or good, or true. Just look at history. Hitler.
When I started changing the way I approach my health and work, I felt immense guilt and fear. One of my biggest fears was going too slow. But as soon as I placed those fears under the microscope I realised a few things. I’m not competing against anyone. I have nothing to prove to this world. There’s enough blessing to go around. I want to provide value, depth and make a difference. I want to be true to myself and to those in my life.
As soon as you acknowledge who you are and what you stand for, it doesn’t matter how others operate or what the world says is ‘success’. Only you can can determine that for your life. As the old book says “we are in the world but not of it”.
5. Don’t forget your values
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” This scripture in itself grounds me. While we may change, grow, transform, fall down, get back up – he stays the same – steadfast. That means when my life is out of sync, I have an eternal link to that which is steady. I can, at anytime, take the time to let that reassurance fill my heart with peace.
“if
the ocean
can calm itself,
so can you.
we
are both
salt water
mixed with
air.”
― Nayyirah Waheed
Tips for mindful social media and technology use:
1. Hang out in nature often
Hiking is one of my favourite ways to switch off. I believe it brings us back to our centre and has multiple benefits on the body, mind and soul. Nature can teach us everything we need to know about life. The seasons that occur naturally and seamlessly work together to create the ebb and flow of life. One of the biggest gains I have had by hiking in nature is realising my lost dreams. It’s like while I’m out there, I remember who I was before the world got to me. There’s no noise. There’s no advertising. There’s no media or persuasion. It’s just me, my soul and earth’s wisdom.
I have a few rules while hiking too. My phone stays in my bag and only comes out for a quick snap. I don’t check the photos until I am home so that I don’t waste time or mental energy fussing over the perfect picture. Basically, what you see is on the go. I created this boundary for myself so that I don’t waste time in nature worrying about what I look like or taking a perfect insta picture.
2. Take a walk or workout (without your phone!)
Hiking isn’t always accessible or doable especially if you live far from the trails. That doesn’t mean we can’t reap the benefits of walking and being outdoors. For 10 years, walking has never failed me. I love working out, sure, but there’s something so natural about going for a walk, even around the ‘burbs.
It can do wonders for you mentally and spiritually. Most of the time I don’t take any music so that I can learn to switch off. But sometimes it’s nice to listen to your favourite tunes and walk to the beat of a good song. Often, I feel empowered, inspired and motivated to create.
3. Switch off your data or change your phone plan
At the end of 2017, I decided to downgrade my phone plan to $10 a month with 1GB. It was a massive drop from $90 and 8GB. Of course, saving money is the number one bonus here. But secondly, 1GB of data goes pretty quickly. You may ask why? Well, limiting myself to less data means I don’t have the option of mindlessly scrolling or reading. If I’m really desperate – emphasis on desperate – I can pay extra or wait until I am in WIFI.
4. Journalise
Journalising is like talking to that friend who never judges and always listens no matter how crazy we are sometimes. It’s a space where you can express yourself openly and declutter your thoughts. Being grounded is about knowing who you are and what you stand for. I’ve written an entire post on this so you can check it out for more depth on why journalising is a great way of switching off.
You May Like This: The Health Benefits of Journalising and How Expressive Writing Can Guide Your Path
5. Connect with people offline
While there are communities online, honestly, nothing beats in-person connection. There is something completely different about being in the company of a person or people. Behind a screen it’s easy to be whoeever you want to be. When you’re in front of people, especially people you don’t know, you don’t have the protection of a screen. This is a good thing. It can boost confidence, mental wellbeing and overall health – yes, even for those of us who get anxious around people. The reason I love the hiking groups is I get to connect with people who have similar interests. We agreed on our last hike there is nothing negative about it. I’ve made new freinds and reconnected with old friends, and we enjoy something together that is simple yet nourishing on so many levels.
6. Set boundaries for “instant gratification”
Re-think your instant gratification habits. Part of the reason I committed to this blog was to spend more time writing and less time on social media. But also I wanted to deflate the “instant gratification” monkey. Due to the fact that it was so easy and quick to write and publish, the instant gratification muscle was always activated. It wasn’t sustainable long term. If you research social media and addictions, you may find some confronting similarities to drug use. It’s pretty confronting that people who work to create social media platforms have admitted using gambling techniques to hook us. Furthermore, some have admitted they wouldn’t let their children use the platforms. This says a lot.
7. Have a sabbatical from social media
Every year, I take two to five months off social media depending on the year. I close my accounts completely. And every time I am amazed at what I learn and discover but also what I’m missing in real life when I’m distracted by social media. It’s not just a break from information consumption but also a break from putting out information.
Here are a few things I have realised on my sabbaticals:
- I spent more time than I realised thinking about social media (any business user or blogger will get this) and it was taking up too much energy
- Relationships in real life are nourishing and give you something social media doesn’t
- I have more time for art, music, writing and things I put off
- I have more energy and focus
- I end the day feeling satisfied
- I don’t feel rushed
- I feel like myself
You’d be amazed how much of difference in your energy levels and mental focus when you aren’t thinking about posting. Keeping more moments for myself has also been a positive shift.
8. Take a look at your habits & have the courage to face your fears
There are more areas we can discuss here and I will touch on those in posts to come. I would love to read your thoughts about this and any tips you have for other readers.
one of the biggest problems with phones and electronics is that they instantly fill the ’empty pause’ which used to be a thing that caused us to contemplate a new direction for conversation or inspired creativity or challenged us to find a way to invest our time. now we so easily default to looking at videos or social media. it fills time, but doesn’t really accomplish anything or create anything of value. its a constant struggle and even when you make a personal choice for yourself you still have to fight it with others who don’t see the problem of too much online connectivity. i just think that for believers, if we’re going to have to give an account for every idle word spoken, then we’re also going to have to give account for how we spent our idle time. Sobering thoughts. thanks for the post!
Thank you so much for sharing this!!! Interesting I’m writing about ‘boredom’ at the moment and the positive aspects of allowing space into our lives. I loved the points you made about 1) new direction for conversation, 2) inspired creativity 3) challenging us to find a way to invest our time. I know what you mean about others not seeing it as a problem. Years ago I probably wouldn’t have either because I was so used to it. But choosing to let space in, I now see how if we aren’t mindful about our use how can be unhealthy. Great point about idle time too. Thinking in that perspective, it really makes you want to be conscious about phones etc. Thanks again for sharing.
Anjelica, what you point out about people using gambling techniques to build a platform is eye-opening. I quit following some because their techniques felt yucky. Great article.