January was a whirlwind of a month – a far cry from last year where the weeks seemed to slog by. It probably went by so fast for me because despite my best efforts I get sucked in to social media feeds the second I pick up my phone. Even though I assigned Twitter and Instagram a 15 minute limit (combined) per day, I’m too often guilty of clicking that ‘Remind me in 15 minutes’ button over and over and over. . .
But I have a good reason!
Don’t we all.
In the latter part of 2019 I tried to curate my feeds so that I would feel more inspiration and upliftment* from the mindless scroll, instead of the usual frustration, comparisons and disappointment. This worked out way easier with Instagram than with Twitter; that place is just an angry quagmire that gets mud on me way too easily. I’m sure you can relate.
One trend that crops up as I reflect on the first month of 2019 was how much value social media actually added to my life. I’m not sure if the scales completely balance out (in terms of value and time that I’ll never get back) but I’m getting to a place where I can accept that, for all its flaws, social media allows us an infinite number of ways to connect, practice compassion and grow as human beings.
Youtube – the home of countless cat videos – is also the home of my first completed (by no means the first attempted) 30 day Yoga Journey. The daily practice of yoga for the entire month of January kept me grounded and mindful, even though it was hosted on a traditionally mind-numbing app/website.
WhatsApp status updates – which I had sworn off cold turkey back in November – became a recurrent source of inspiration and a catalyst for some bookish conversations. Of course not every status update sprouts holy wisdom, and honestly some people upload like 30 of the most trivial photos in quick succession and make you question why they’re even in your contact lists –. Suffice to say, there is a mute button for a reason.
Instagram – home of envy – awash with pictures of immaculate houses, children, outfits, lives. I stopped following every account that – through no fault of their own – made me question my own self-worth. Until I can get a good grip on my worthiness it’s probably for the best that I stop ‘liking’ every single one of Yendi’s posts and then beating myself up for not being such an amazing mom/actress/model/consultant?? I’m not actually sure what Yendi does for a living.
The Instagram accounts I follow now are mostly comic artists, podcasts that remind me to reaffirm my intrinsic value, book lovers and those people from high school who I would feel guilty about un-following because they all followed me first and that’s just being polite.
Twitter. Oh, Twitter. It’s hard to justify my continued use of Twitter, on the heels of all the positive vibes I just talked about and especially in light of the latest angrily-tweeted about abortion-debate-that-wasn’t. I mean, for health reasons alone I should stop using Twitter because it definitely sends up my blood pressure. But I find myself coming back to it because of the instant flare of connection that happens when someone likes or retweets or responds to one of your tweets. I know this is a false feeling. There’s no real connection between a tweet and a like – I’ve liked enough posts by accident to know that it means literally nothing. But I keep going back.
Twitter keeps me informed about a side of Jamaica I don’t often talk to in real life – the ‘articulate minority’ as one unfortunate MP said a few years ago. My attraction to Twitter is your basic FOMO*, and not a habit I’m likely to kick any time soon.
Despite the many, many, many silly, depressing and sometimes spiteful reasons that people do things on social media, I think these platforms still have options to offer that are positive, meaningful and compassionate. Whether you’re looking at community hashtags like #womeninmedicine, fandom tribes like Harry Potter or the Bloggess, Instagram accounts like alex_elle or Youtube channels like Yoga With Adriene, the good stuff, the soul-filling stuff is definitely out there too.
Albus Dumbledore
Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light
*Did you guys know “uplift” is a verb and a noun?! Mind-blowing.
*FOMO = Fear Of Missing Out
well read robin 
Social media is what you make it! It was nice to read your thoughts om this. Quite different from mine but i get it. I think、 in terms of posting、 i try to make sure what i put out there is positive. It’ll make someone laugh or smile or feel good. Yeah. Too much negativity out there already.. we don’t need to add to it.
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Agreed! And thanks for commenting 😊
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I enjoyed reading your thoughts on social media. I’ve never created a Twitter account– in fact I thought it had died until probably about mid-last year I’ve been realizing there’s a resurgence (which is probably linked to all the Jamaican Twitter screenshots I see in my explore page on Instagram). It seems interesting now but I refuse to get sucked into another platform. Facebook—well I still scroll there occasionally, but Instagram. wow! It’s annoyingly addictive but like you, I went on a similar mission last year to unfollow all the people who inadvertently made me feel like my life was not exciting/glamorous/perfect/good enough. I have no need to be aware of where complete strangers visited last or where they had dinner last night. So as of maybe last October, I only follow people I know in real life, a few other bloggers, a few Jamaican pages (e.g. proudjamaicans and our main newspapers) and relatable quote-sharing pages such as thoughtcatalog and wordporm. It has been a liberating experience. I also started 2019 with a 20 day IG & FB cleanse– was supposed to be all of January but oh well lol. I think I still reaped the benefit. Here’s to more mindful scrolling this year!
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Thanks for those recommending those Instagram pages! I’ll definitely check them out. I almost never use FB, usually only to check on the blog page that’s there or if I need to get in touch with someone and have no other means of contact.
I don’t think I could manage a cleanse 🙈. Like I said, my FOMO is real. But staying off social does have its merits!
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Well if I did a social media cleanse, my business that is based on social media, would crumble. Hence, some of us are stuck here on these social platforms. Realistically though, these platforms are best handled with care as they are very addictive. Time limits is a good thing.
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Thanks for sharing a different perspective! I agree, “handle with care” is a good strategy when dealing with social media.
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