The Social Media Diet

I was on a social media “diet” this past weekend.  This was part of a requirement for a course I am taking at school.  This experiment I believe was designed to possibly free us from the distractions that can be brought on through the constant barrage of interactions that we all have with our various tools of social media.  The “diet” was a time to lose the distractions so that we may focus on the physical personal relationships and setting some quality time aside for introspection.  The time spent disconnecting from the constant online presence would make us realize that not only is it ok, but that it is valuable time to focus on the most important aspects in our life.  Taking a breather would be refreshing giving us a power to disconnect and reconnect at our choosing.

I believed that going into this weekend that it would not be an issue as I am a casual social media user and usually my time card is filled throughout the weekend that it would not be an issue.  I was successful in not logging on to Facebook or checking my email for the entire weekend.  I had a slight itch on Saturday evening after my wife and kids were fast asleep and in my normal routine this would be the opportunity for me to peruse the daily stories on my feed on Facebook, but instead spent more time playing guitar.  It is in this time when I let my fingers flow and, maybe only other musicians will understand, just reflect and let it pour out through the guitar. 

Saturday during the day, my family hooked up with my wife’s sister’s family and her older brother’s family to enjoy a snow fest day at a local recreational outdoor centre.  We had a lot of fun especially with the large snowfall that had dropped the previous day.  There was face painting for the kids, tobogganing, skiing, snacks and much more, providing an excellent opportunity for us all to experience some quality time together.  We came home to a great meal with everybody and the guys watched the hockey game in the evening as the girls chatted in the other room for the night. 

My brother-in-law and his family spent the night and he helped me hang some DVD cabinets after a big breakfast in the morning before they had to take off.  My family went down to my sister’s place for a birthday lunch for my Mom’s boyfriend where we had a short meal as my little guy was getting rather cranky that the festivities were cutting into his nap time.  My daughter and I headed out to clean my school bus off so that it would be ready for Monday, so that my wife could have a little quiet time to relax before her younger brother and fiancée came for a fantastic turkey dinner with her parents.  Needless to say with the turkey making us all sleepy, it was an early night for everyone and another close to another great weekend. 

I am not much of a social media user so I did not find it difficult to disconnect.  I am fortunate to have learnt somewhat early in adulthood to live in the moment, and to cherish the now rather than long for a past or wish for a future point.  I realized early on that many regrets are due to letting the present slip away from us.  The time I spend with my family and friends is what makes me “richer” and I knew long before going into this exercise that disconnecting to enjoy the finer things in life is the most important component to what I deem a successful life.  All the electronic gadgets that we sometimes are more focused on with the illusion that we are somehow more connected in a physical sense are partly the cause for the distance that is felt between one another.  I enjoyed the social media diet but that is partly because I enjoy being disconnected now and then.  I don’t feel the need nor do I want to be constantly connected or available to all 24/7.