It’s been a week since I set a three-hour limit on my phone for socials.
For the record, I wasn’t using social much even before. I only spend more time on Twitter than Facebook or Instagram cause it’s fun and we’re all screwed-up individuals in there, but even Twitter is too toxic lately that I don’t see anything else aside from my government being incompetent, as usual. (Give me something new!) Well there are still funny and witty tweets naman which I still enjoy from time to time, but you’re getting my point, right?
No matter how much we limit ourselves to only see good things on our feed, social media still stresses us so bad whether we notice it or not. We can’t just close our eyes from seeing bad news no matter how much we avoid it, having our change of emotions and behavior as a result.
How am I feeling now then? Am I happier? Yes. Do I feel less stressed? Yes.
To be honest, you’re not really missing out on anything if you stop using social media. Especially at this time where we’re all just at home, basically doing the same thing, which is just trying to make it out alive. We’re all in the same wavelength here, sis. Chill.
I don’t need Twitter to tell me how bad my government is every time because that’s already a fact. (Plus, I’ve learned to check reliable news sites every morning for that.) I don’t need Facebook to see people from High School getting married and having kids, or watch videos from TikTok uploaded there ’cause I already have the app for that. (Nyar, tiktoker pala hahaha!) I don’t even need Instagram to view people’s stories working out ’cause I’m also doing those myself.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have any issues with the people who are doing the above. That’s their life, let them do their thing. But what I’m saying is I lessened my time on social media, for myself, because even studies show how social media is a big factor of reference point – which in psychology is defined as the salient (but often irrelevant) standard against which all subsequent information is compared. To simplify, social media makes us compare our lives to other people’s lives knowingly or not! (Which makes us so unhappy!)
The thing with social media… is it’s not giving you accurate information about other people’s lives. People don’t really look like that in real life. They look like that only when they take that photo and post it, which happens to be when they look good. Even the people you see in fashion magazines or social pages are mostly – or completely – photoshopped, fake versions of what humans actually look like. You’re only seeing curated, idealized versions of everything that’s (almost) perfect; so don’t end up comparing your version with theirs, because it will not match.
After cutting some time off from socials, I’ve become more productive and stress-free. There aren’t many reference points to compare myself to anymore and I’ve only been working on my self-betterment. I started taking online courses, learned how to cook more meals, started working out and playing the piano again, and became more grateful and more aware of the present. I’m better, happier, and so proud of myself.
Anyway, I need to stop talking like I totally quit social media because I did not. But hey, I’m only using it for three hours a day now and isn’t that something worth sharing? Shouldn’t we be congratulating people for small things, as well? I know most of us can’t completely shut down social media due to acceptable reasons, but I hope you commit to being more honest on your feed and making it a bit more positive. Be mindful and start using it to influence people in a good way. Sabi nga, start with yourself. You can do it!
Stay safe and have a great week ahead!
Love, Amielle 
I really related to this post! I thought social media was being very draining too, for the past few days and I realised I couldn’t limit it. Infact I didnt want to limit it. I just didnt want it in my life at all. And I feel a lot lot happier now. But I do occasionallyyyy open them up. :)
And like you said, even if something is bad, reading it factually is tons better than reading people’s complaints.
Great post! And it’s so good that you’ve been able to limit it, instead of flushing it out because balance is what we need! XX
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True!! And I think that’s really great of you to be able to not use it much now. :) Continue being happy! <3
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Yesss I felt that!! After years of toxicity, I deleted Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and started abandoning Twitter. I might get back to them if I ever start a business or for a extracurriculars but it was getting too toxic for me to have my own platform and constantly be overwhelmed with ego food. What I really needed was soul food so I started investing my time elsewhere. To this day, I still scroll through my email the way I used to refresh Instagram because habits take so long to stop. I still keep in contact with friends through messaging but social media just wasn’t for me. I love this post! And congratulations on reducing your screen time! <3
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You DELETED!!!! Gurl that’s so brave of you! I can’t deactivate my Facebook completely cause I’m living overseas and my relatives rely on Facebook for life updates sometimes. Lol
I love the idea of the ego food and soul food thing. I feel like I’m gonna use it more often now. <3 And thank you! Hope I'll be able to completely shut it down like how you did it soon!
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Well, you mentioned Him as incompetent.
I think hearing him cursing and threatening to kill are signs of competence. ” Look at me, I’m so brave… I kick , I curse, I threaten. ” So, so brave.
Meanwhile, he’s selling off the country, not even subtly. Island by island, sea by sea…
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Right? When I hear “bad” news about him, I don’t even feel surprised anymore.
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To simplify, social media makes us compare our lives to other people’s lives knowingly or not! (Which makes us so unhappy!)
The main reason why I stopped using it long ago. :) Hindi mo na lang napapansin na you’re living your life based off of other people’s standards/opinions of you. Tapos you’re always craving for attention and approval… Quitting social media by unfriending people lol was and will always be the best decision I’ve made
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Sobrang true. Another thing is most people get easily influenced by others, that even if mali na ‘yung sinusuportahan, they’d turn a blind eye and still support them. That’s just to toxic for me to take in, ako ‘yung nasstress kapag nakikita ko online. Hahaha
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I appreciate what you have done.
The only people who are getting benefits from these social apps are the ones who are earning from these.
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Thank you! 🥰
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Congrats on limiting your socmed, Amielle! Although, will be missing your “talks” on IG stories. Haha
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HAHA mamaya meron na rin akong “welcome back to my shannel” charot!
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Hell yeah this post is the best! I so agree with you 💯💖👏. I always compare my life to others on social media which makes me feel worse at the end. I also use it less and I always try to be honest and real especially here always on my blog and on Instagram. I love to follow authentic people who inspire me and make me feel real.
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YES. I think that’s one of the good things that we can do also. To follow people who’ll inspire us instead of comparing ourselves to them. :)
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Yaaaaaaas! So proud of you! Doing this makes everything around you so pleasant and more positive!
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HUHU tenkyuuu 🥺 though minsan nalalagpas ako sa limit kasi nakikipagsagutan ako sa mga DDS sa facebook NYAHAHA ang mature!
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I rarely spend any time on social media at all! If I’m on my phone, it’s to read blogs on WordPress. 😝 Happy to hear that cutting your time down to 3 hrs has helped improve your life. ♡
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