What I Noticed About People Taking The Weekend Off From Social Media

The Monday IG stories all talked about the same thing.

You don’t know what social media does to you until you move away from it for a little while.

The Monday this happened was a super weird one.

I had already spent my entire weekend on social media, on and off. During my binging, I noticed that many people I follow (mostly coaches, because I love them) announced that they wouldn’t show up on IG stories for the weekend.

Fair enough, I probably should’ve done the same. I can certainly see where they’re coming from, and I fully support that.

But this time, on this Monday, when I started checking out the IG stories, over 5 coaches showed up saying how incredibly liberating it was to not be on social media for the weekend. Literally one after the other, these people were making confessions about how energy-draining it is to have to be on social media.

It hit me.

Am I becoming oblivious to the fact that I spend insane amounts of time on social media?

Am I not seeing how time-consuming and damaging it is?

It was such a shocking feeling.

I felt like I had awakened.

I know, it sounds very dramatic. But having 5+ people talking about the same thing in a row can be really thought-provoking, especially when you’ve been doing that thing mindlessly.

I sat with these thoughts for a while. I reflected upon them.

And what I discovered was not in any way new — but it was the reminder I needed.

The life-sucking invisible monster we all joyfully welcome every day

It’s easy to get sucked in into this trap.

Or, at least, it’s easy for a youngster like me who grew up on social media.

I no longer see the damages it does to my overall mental health, but I constantly feel their outcomes throughout my everyday life.

It’s already a massive cliche to say this, but I’m constantly surprised by how poisonous social media is becoming, no matter the mindset with which you go into it.

Sure, you can enjoy having an audience and showing up for them — that’s certainly my favourite part — but it can easily become a spiral of binging infinite content, writing 30 comments, watching 50 stories…

… all while comparing your life to every single one of those.

The result? Discouragement, self-doubt, low self-confidence, fear, anxiety…

Sometimes I would have a good day, and then ask myself where these negative feelings came from.

Turns out, I was just spending hours on social media.

Final thoughts

Look, social media is a powerful tool for your business.

But, like everything in life, there has to be a balance — and incredibly strong boundaries.

You probably already know this, but I know I can always use the reminder.

I’m hoping it did something for you as well.