When Did Social Media Become Real Life?

Ever heard the saying “Social media isn’t real life”? - I am starting to think that I might beg to differ, howbeit only partially.

Before I delve into my thoughts on that, I would like to first wish you a happy new year! I hope you are having a great start to the year so far, and if for some reason you aren’t, I am sending you my best wishes. The first week of the year for me has been, to put it mildly, 'interestinggggg'; also, work picked up full steam from the first working day of the year so it has been a busier week than I anticipated.

Back to my thoughts about social media - As of midnight on January 1, I completely deleted all my social media apps other than WhatsApp from my phone - a similar experiment to my 30-day social media detox in 2022, which I documented here - and what a fascinating experience it has been a second time around.

I have always found the concept of detoxing from social media highly essential as I am very conscious of the impact uncontrolled consumption can have. This time around, however, I am increasingly aware of the people/things I am cut off from due to being off social media - some of which I enjoy losing access to, others which make me wonder why I am putting myself through such 'torture' - lol

I miss sending and receiving interesting news and memes from friends and family, seeing the new hot gists on the web, seeing interesting pictures and videos of people on different adventures, and connecting with ‘friends’ easily. However, I do not miss being exposed to people's extreme opinions, especially on volatile topics. As someone who loves social discourse about various subjects, I struggle with the mob/herd mentality that social media sometimes encourages which either silences other voices or takes the loudest voice as gospel.

All of this to say I am enjoying and loathing my social media absence in (almost) equal measure - I think I’m enjoying it more than I hate it to be honest, however, it constantly has me wondering how we got to the point where social media became such a huge part of our relationships and everyday lives.

Anyway, I am now 8 days in - let’s see how far I can stretch it.

What do you like/hate about social media? Would you consider a 30-day social media detox? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

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This year, I thought I would introduce a few new things to the weekly blog in addition to sharing what I am reading and listening to. Here are a few of this week's favorites:

What I am reading: I am slowwwwly (slowly being the keyword as I am still trying to get myself into reading in 2023) reading Atomic Habits by James Clear (again). I have spoken so much about the book already on this blog that saying anything else almost feels like sounding like a broken record. Curious about the book? You can find my thoughts here, here, and here :-)

What I am listening to: Kay shared this song with me earlier this week, and I've been hooked ever since. It is titled “Shall Not Want - by Elevation Music and Maverick City”. It is a very uplifting song and is now my go-to morning anthem. You can listen to it here.

My Movie of the week: I recently saw the movie Just Mercy on Netflix starring Michael B Jordan and Jamie Fox it was such a deeply moving and emotional movie based on a true life story. The movie completely blew me away, and I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it sooner. Definitely worth checking out if you haven't seen it yet.

My Biggest Learning of the week: One of my biggest learnings this week is that we just need the right motivation to do the 'right' thing. For example, you think you lack the ability to eat healthy? Trust me, you haven't needed to - if you ever did, you will. I promise you.

Highest Point of the week: Seeing my phone screen time decline by half daily has been an absolutely beautiful sight to behold. I was in total shock when I realized that my daily average phone usage used to be over 10 hours - *ka ma ri!

P.S. - 'Ka ma ri’ is an exclamation in Yoruba that can be translated as God forbid!

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Thank you!

Wishing you an incredible week.

See you again next week!

Love,

Nifemi