Disconnecting In A Connected World

What a life without a personal Instagram has looked like in the last two years.

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In January 2022, I decided to deactivate my personal Instagram. The decision was not an outcome of anxiety or stress. I just felt like I was not giving anything to the platform, and the platform was not giving me anything in return either.

I never spent hours on the Explore page, but often found myself muddling somewhere on the app, looking at someone else’s life and subconsciously judging if mine looked better or worse, or spending hours re-reading my 'perfectly hilarious and apt captions.' (Not a brag, but I was often appreciated for my witty captions in my social media phase 😌)

I started an Instagram page for this blog in March of 2022, where I shared my insights occasionally. But as of last month, I have decided to step away from it indefinitely. 

Social media can be a tricky space to navigate if you don’t set boundaries with it. And it is not just about screen time. We usually ignore its contribution to our deteriorating mental state.

MY FIRST YEAR OFF INSTAGRAM

Here is how I spent my first year without a personal Instagram account, a blessing in disguise for my overall well-being.

• Painting 

My time off social media introduced me to a world where I could try out things I always wanted to do. Painting, for instance, is one of them. People who know me well would agree that I am far from creative when it comes to art. But there were days when I spent hours painting on a canvas in my living room, even on cold winter nights. That's how much I enjoyed it. 

Although I have a lot less time now than I used to a year ago as my career progresses and the actuarial exams intensify, I still believe that staying off social media allows me to have moments of peace I would never otherwise have if picking up my phone and opening social media was my muscle memory.

-My paint by numbers set-up back in 2022-

• Skillshare  

In my first year off Instagram, I purchased a subscription for Skillshare. If you don’t know about Skillshare, it’s a platform where you can take online courses by global creators on just about everything. I took a 10-minute class on how to chop vegetables like a chef. (No judgments please, I really enjoyed it.)

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WHAT THE LAST 12 MONTHS HAVE TAUGHT ME ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA

 My second year off Instagram was unquestionably different from the year before (thanks to adulting!). Nevertheless, I realised that:

• Your mind is not designed to keep up with what 200 acquaintances are doing in their lives at the moment. It thrives when you nurture a handful of genuine connections.

• You will hardly ever remember every piece of information you consume on the internet in a day. But a loved one may appreciate hearing your voice every once in a while. So, use your time wisely.

• When you are not engaging with someone else’s life via an app, you start observing that your values, circumstances and priorities are unique. So you discover yourself instead of wanting to be someone else. 

-Mesmerising view from a sunset I fully soaked in; with no intention of posting it on the gram-

Last month, I decided to stop posting on Unwind’s Instagram. To my surprise, I noticed that:

• I did not feel like I was being left behind in a race where everyone else was thriving. I just realised that it wasn’t a race I wanted to be a part of in the first place.

• I was no longer caught in a cycle of worrying about scheduling posts and not being able to write content (because I was busy worrying about scheduling it). 

• I can choose to deviate from my original plan to protect my inner peace at any time, and the world will still stay intact.

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THIS WEEK’s RECOMMENDATIONS

• don’t I deserve to be happy? by

  Robert
  . If you ever question whether you deserve happiness or not, read this.

• How to be a good person by

  Donna McArthur
  . One of the best IWD -Daisy Chain Flower Crown essays I read on Substack last week.

• What I’m sitting with by

  Lisa Olivera
  . I have experienced all sorts of emotions while reading this one. Lisa’s words are remarkable.

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If you enjoy reading Unwind, I would love it if you consider recommending the publication to your readers. Simply go to your dashboard > Recommendations > Manage > Add recommendation > Unwind.

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Lessons From Last Month

Little Things That Aren't So Little!