A Social Holiday

Posted by: Alison Chisnell on: July 15, 2013

• In: Social Media | Twitter | Values
• 8 Comments

So, I’ve been rather quiet this last week on all things social…very quiet indeed, as I decided to take a week long holiday from Twitter and Facebook. It’s the first social staycation I’ve experienced – along with many people, I use social media far less or not at all when I’m on holiday, which I’ve found relatively easy – but this time round I wanted to see if I could alter some of the habits I’ve developed in a usual week at home and work.

It was a snap decision, made on Sunday morning, borne primarily out of irritation with myself at some of the habits that I had formed, many of which you may recognise…checking social feeds as soon as I woke up and often last thing at night too, spending time idly flicking between Twitter, Facebook and then back to Twitter again on my phone, interacting socially instead of chatting to those around me and generally being disproportionally distracted by it all. I’m pretty certain I’m not alone in some of these bad habits and I wanted to make a change, not least because I was starting to find it increasingly difficult to switch my mind off at night and just relax and also because that’s not the person I want to be or the behaviours I want to teach my children.

So, I switched off. Or, more accurately, I moved the social apps several screens over to the right on my phone and vowed not to look. It rather reminded of a time when my Mum confiscated the only television set in the house for a month when I was a child and my brothers and I kept arguing over it! And to be honest, it’s been annoyingly tricky at times, but very valuable in terms of creating better habits and focussing back on the value that social brings to me and how I want to use and access it without becoming consumed by it. It’s been liberating in some ways: I feel more relaxed in the evenings, I’ve found it makes for a surprising amount of extra time, which I’ve used to call, text and see friends I haven’t caught up with for ages, as well as chatting more to those at home…and hey, here I am writing again! There have been withdrawal symptoms too: I’ve been surprised at how much I’ve been drawn to wanting to know what has been going on and dip back in to social feeds, particularly if I’m bored or without company at home or on the train…and yes, I have found myself thinking about things that I would have tweeted were it not for my social holiday :).

What happens now?  A few more rules I think and a bit of ongoing social discipline: the phone will stay firmly out of the bedroom and I am going to mostly avoid social feeds in the evening and before I go out in the morning, plus I’m experimenting with a few tweaks in my notification settings. All relatively small changes but I think they will make a difference to me and remind me that the level of attention I give to social media is a choice. I do think we’re kidding ourselves if we don’t address how addictive some of the social media apps can become…and if we can so easily fall into the traps as adults, how much more vulnerable are our kids of doing the same? Much as it’s been tricky at times, I’m really glad I’ve taken my social holiday…and would recommend it to anyone who wants to reassess or make a change. I may well take one a little more regularly myself!

What do you reckon…do you need a social holiday or have you got other ways of ensuring that you keep everything in good balance?

Tags: Facebook, Social media, Taking a Break from Social Media, Twitter