3 reasons to quit social media.
It's your reality; do with it what you want.
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The name of my Substack is The Reluctant Tarot Reader, which would lead one to believe that the most popular posts out of the 100+ I’ve written would be about Tarot.
Nope. I don’t even write that much about Tarot. I’ve already done that in my books.
Interesting fact: the 3 most read posts (not to be confused with “Top Posts” based on likes/algorithm) are these:
None surprise me. The adoption one was moving and vulnerable, an insider view. The other two affirm what I’m seeing more and more: the need to step away from the whirlwind of social media, smartphones and always ON life. The need for a simpler life where you can breathe easy and relax.
The good news? It’s your life. Change as needed.
1st reason: Your sensitive nervous system will thank you.
It took weeks for my nervous system to reset/relax from the constant noise and pressure of notifications, comments and need for content. Having a smartphone at the time only heightened it. With an always ON life, it feels like there is no escape; endless scrolls (doom or otherwise) and floods of information, mostly useless.
Fortunately, there is a way. The OFF button. The DELETE button. The click of the modem turning dark. Cancellation of apps/subscriptions. Leaving hardware at home.
That won’t be for long. Smartphones/devices are rapidly being replaced by invisible grids, chips, integrated AI and the like. We are moving into the Android Age and so be it. I’m not a Luddite who cries about the old days. There are many, many wonderful things that will emerge during what I call The Golden Era and do not believe in an Apocalypse or end-of-world scenario. I find it really sad that this generous, miraculous world is seen as broken, sinful and needs to be destroyed. There are too many powerful healers who exist on this planet for that to happen and things will gradually improve, rather than decline. I do not feel the dread and lack of optimism that so many put forth now. In fact, I reject it.
But there are many different worlds; many different realities.
I’m under no illusion about the ease of modernity most of us have. It will be much harder — if not impossible — for those being born to escape the clutches of the virtual world; perhaps they will arrive with a more developed system to handle the massive input and find it no big deal. What they never had, they won’t miss.
This is the tween time: the dying light of a dying age which is normal and natural in terms of evolution. However, we can control how we wish to experience our personality in the world we actively create and see on the daily. How can we allow more peace with ourselves? More calm? More appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us?
Do we think we deserve to be happy?
You may be one of the rare few who can handle the stress of social media and still have a peaceful vibe. You may find it enjoyable and have a healthy ON/OFF life. That’s amazing! I wasn’t willing to seek that happy medium because no matter what I tried, the pressure outweighed my peace. Walking away worked for me.
2nd reason: You will break your addiction to social media.
Many creators of social media have admitted that they built the platform with the knowledge that it would cause widespread addiction. A few have denounced their Frankenstein, warning people to give up social media. There’s a reason why many Silicon Valley parents do not let their small children have iPad or phones. They are aware of the danger.
Yet we’re adults. It’s our choice to use social media — or not.
I consider myself a disciplined person on many levels — but have no problem admitting my addiction to social media and my former smartphone, though I wouldn’t have said so at the time. I was on for business. Right?
Those genius creators knew exactly what they were doing — and every minute I stayed online meant that they had power over me.
But it was SO easy to reach for my computer/phone, especially when bored or restless. Easy to feel outraged or laugh at accounts/articles that may or may not have been written a real person. Easy to stay inside, snug on the couch and stare at a screen. Plus, I was fearful that I’d lose business if I broke from social media. No one would follow me! They’d forget! Think I abandoned them!
Not true. My business survived. I’m still here. I still have clients, though very few read my Substack if you consider my writing “social media”. They know where to find me.
3rd reason: A deeper connection to yourself, physical time with others and appreciation of Nature.
As Mark Boyle, author of The Way Home: Tales From a Life Without Technology wisely commented in an interview: I’ve heard we touch our smartphones over 2,000 times a day. Do we touch our partners 2,000 a day?
I’d ask myself with real curiosity: Raven, when was the last time you relaxed, looked up at the clouds and didn’t have a metal box of radiation nearby or — God forbid — tucked up near/against your skin? The last time you noticed the moonrise? Fireflies? Bees at work? The sun peeking up from the trees? What was the first bird you heard this morning? What was the last book you read? Did you call that friend? Have you started the book you want to write? What was the first thing you did when you woke up — and an hour after? Did it include email, social media accounts or news? How did you feel? When was the last time you took a walk without your phone? A nap without wireless on?
These questions helped me realize what I truly wanted: to leave social media for good.
Yet some people are genuinely puzzled as to why I’m offline and don’t have a smartphone. Nothing brings it home like a 76 year old who looks at me like I’m crazy and says, You don’t have a smartphone?? while handing over a TT video of German singers lip-syncing and dancing around in lederhosen.
Lederhosen, indeed.
Social media encourages us to disconnect from real people in the tactile world. It trains us to look down, not up — and forget about the beauty that desires for us to partake in it. Social media overloads personalized AI content/articles and trains our brains so that we will never figure out what is real. It literally shapes a form of reality for us, based on what we view/hear/comment on.
Do our subconscious minds know how to recognize the difference? What is reality?
I am still aware that I need to diminish time online and be with real people, even years after giving up accounts. It’s just so easy to hang out because I have a virtual job and love my alone time, so it’s more of a challenge to seek out real humans and interact. Plus, I make sure to shut computers/modem by 8pm or earlier and start my first hour of the day, modem off. It’s amazing how well I sleep when in tune with my natural circadian rhythm.
3 top rewards after I quit social media.
Body: Excellent sleep. Easier digestion. Calmer nervous system. I’ve become an incredible baker/chef and love futzing in the kitchen. With many, many hours of practice over recipes, I feel confident now.
Brain: I read so many more books and learn new things, like foraging for medicinal/edible plants in my yard and fruit trees in the neighborhood. And! I just finished writing a novel (it’s in final editing stage now — on tap for early 2025 release. :)
Overall happiness: Connecting with Nature, my gardens, trees and woods, walks, time to daydream and chats with real people. This was once my normal life before social media/smartphones — and has now come into balance again, while I also acknowledge that the analog era is over for the majority of the planet.
Social media helps by locking me out without accounts — but not YT. I’ll admit: I love YT while knowing that most videos are probably paid actors/“influencers”/fake/AI created by the powers-that-be to sway the masses, no matter how “real” people act in fascinating interviews. I don’t really trust anything I watch. If I can’t touch, look into their eyes or speak in person, I put all in the “maybe but probably not” column.
I don’t try to figure out REALITY because I believe this human world is probably a hoax, movie or video game of some kind. My personal reality is all I know. It’s what I choose to create and experience, so why not have fun with it? I’m standing on a Shakti mat right now. My feet feel the pressure points. I hear the birds call to each other while the crow family stalks the yard. The sun hits the early morning leaves; another beautiful late summer day. I’m going to run errands, stop for tea and chat with people or stare at the river and enjoy the day. Maybe I’ll just come home and make a great lunch. I don’t need social media accounts to do this. I don’t need to report my movements or share my meal online. It’s enough to simply be in my day. To simply be.
Good read, Raven!