I see all those lifestyle influencers talking about how they've been enlightened by their 30 days break from social media: They reconnected with the present, became 20 times more happy and productive, and became so connected with nature they learned to get orgasms from trees. Or so I read on social media…
Stop the bullshit. The Truth is: you won't change your life that way. I mean, really? You think it's that easy? If quitting social media is good, why not do it permanently?
Here’s why you should quit social media permanently.
FRIENDS
When you quit social media, you stop hearing about that one guy you briefly talked to one year ago at a pub, and you stop hearing about your coworkers or fellow students. I mean, do you realize how unimportant it is for you to know where all those people, that are not really your friends, have been during last summer or what they've done for Christmas? Do you really care? Is it so important for you to know their last outfit? Fuck no.
When you quit social media, the only ones you stay in touch with are your real friends, the ones who have your number.
Quitting social media forces you to text or call your real friends, and it forces them to do the same with you.
What if nobody ever texts you? or calls you? It might mean you don't have any real friends. Just think about it.
Social media keeps you in touch with the fake brothers and sisters. It is just noise. Quit the shit.
TIME
That part is the most important one. Time is one of the most precious resources we have. And still, the average bloke spends more than two hours a day on social media.
"[…] life is real short. […] you add up all your traveling, add up all your sleeping, add up all your school, add up all your entertainment, you've probably spent half your life doing nothing."
Think about it. Out of 80 years of life, a vast part of your time is spent in school, work, chores, homework, traveling, and sleeping. And still, when we can easily do something meaningful with our time, we waste it on meaningless things such as complaining, bitching about others, and endless scrolling on social media.
Permanently save two hours of your day by simply deleting Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. FTW.
IDENTITY
As social media lacks the spontaneity of real life, when using them, we tend to create a detached version of ourselves. We think too much about what kind of personal image we're going to give to others, and we barricade ourselves in chosen concepts. Alienation.
Become free of the non-spontaneity and become the real you by… quitting the shit.
POLITICS
Social medias are free. They make money by selling our data.
I get it, you don't give a shit about data holders being able to know a few things about you (what kind of genital disease you have, for example)… But the real problem is that this business model potentially gives power to people with a shit-ton of money.
In a world where the rich fight to get favorable laws, data is yet another tool to help them win the social struggle.
Let's take a look at what happened in 2016 with Donald Trump, a president who has untaxed the rich like crazy:In 2016, helped by a billionaire named Robert Mercer, Trump used data from 87 million Facebook users to influence their votes. It's the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal. Moral of the story? Your data can be used against you, don't give it to just anyone. Quit Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook right now. They fuck with our lives in so many ways.
ATTENTION
People always grab their phones and go on social media when they have to wait. To find out how stupid it is, just try to appreciate the calm when waiting in a queue to get your baguette (I'm French, laddies!), or when waiting for the bus.
Use those moments of emptiness to fulfill yourself with inner peace and to force yourself into liking life. Don't try to escape. Meditate on your projects, on your creed, on your principles, even on your problems. Those moments can be opportunities to do something productive, as reading a good book, or texting a long-time friend, or you can just watch the flying birds , i.e. the miracle of life.
Thanks for reading!