Hi, my name is Siobhan and I’m a social media addict ;)
It’s true. I love a good scroll through Instagram. Then Facebook. Then back to Instagram, maybe for some hashtag perusing and profile stalking. And scrolling. Always scrolling. So much so that my toddler, at 20 months of age, can scroll like a boss from seeing me do it so much. Yep, bad mum right here.
But social media is a great escape from the groundhog-day-ness of everyday mum life. Nearly all of Australia’s 3.9 million mums have a mobile phone (97%) with most having smartphones (77%), using them for social networking, uploading photos, researching topics (who doesn’t “Ask Google”?) and more.
Yes, we’re on our phones a LOT for our personal lives. For me, I also have a profile for my blog on Instagram, so being active on social media is ‘work’. But sometimes I am guilty of being on there too much when I’m meant to be focussed on other things. I definitely have a problem. So, over Christmas and New Year I had a little social media detox and for 10 days I logged off completely. What did I learn? Well...
- What the heck do I do during breastfeeding? Yes, I stare lovingly at my newborn. But there’s only so much of that you can do.
- I caught up on news. Actual news sites, not mummy ones. There’s a lot going on outside of parenthood and my friendship circle that I’d completely lost touch with. And it’s all really interesting. Go figure ;)
- I missed spying on people. I felt out of the loop. Let’s get one thing straight though, I’m not a creep. I don’t take it to the extent of stalking. But let's face it, a big part of social media is taking a peep into another person’s life!
Siobhan and her son. image supplied - I had a LOT more time on my hands. Ahh, the joy of a few minutes to just lie on the floor (star-fished from the exhaustion that is 2 kids under 18 months) doing nothing. As a result, I cherished the quiet moments more. Bliss.
- I felt light and free as a bird. No pressure to ‘keep up with the Joneses’.
- I was forced into reality. No mindless zoning out. I was more present, more thoughtful and more fun (so my husband tells me).
Speaking of husbands...
I have to say that, while the break was hard and it was oh so tempting to just jump back on, this little experiment really forced me to switch off, get present and soak up real life. It really made a difference to our home life.
These days, I’m back on social media but will be doing less scrolling and experiencing real life that much more. Time with our families and little ones really does pass in the blink of an eye, so I highly recommend logging off and switching on.
I sure will be… right after I take a sneaky peek at what’s going on today...just one scroll, I promise ;)
Have you ever taken a social media break?
