jennybeane.com

At the beginning of the summer, I found myself being sucked down the time-consuming rabbit hole of social media. This time-suck also pushed me to constantly compare myself to others- which was frustrating, depressing and quite frankly… ridiculous.

Occasionally, I felt appalled at my weekly screen time report, delivered to my disgust every Sunday morning at 9 am. If I was setting such strict screen restrictions for my own children, why wasn’t I abiding by the same rules?

Sometimes, I looked at the other mom’s feeds and felt like I wasn’t DOING enough. Questions rattled around my head- revealing insecurities about my family, my involvement in the community, my financial status, my marriage, etc., etc….

But more often than not, I was feeling down. I felt disappointed in myself for not being able to accomplish what others were achieving. For not living the ideal life that so many others were portraying.

So in June, I took matters into my own hands and took a much-needed “digital detox.” I swore off Facebook feeds and concentrated on my family, my faith, my passions, and most of all… my well-being.

Granted, my children are now teenagers, and do not require the constant, one-on-one attention that exhaust so many parents. I am also a teacher, which allows abundant free-time during many summer days. However, I have never had a more spiritually-awakening season.

I woke each day to enjoy purposeful meditation and worked on numerous manuscripts. I read many, MANY books and enjoyed the sunshine. I exercised my body and mind, and set aside quality time for family and friends.

For the first time, I ended my summer feeling refreshed and fully prepared to take on a new school year.

And then I decided, if I felt this good over the summer… I should probably continue this feeling of peace and self-love into the foreseeable future. So I continued my Facebook forfeit into the fall.

I am happy to report that my summer digital detox was not just a fluke. Each morning, I wake up early to enjoy quiet meditation and focus on positive affirmations for the day ahead. I find a hopeful positivity in my heart that I found myself constantly questioning in the past.

Last week, I posted on Facebook for the first time in a long while, as my family went through a big change that I knew others would be eager to know about. This weekend, I began to feel a familiar “pull” to look at comments, likes and then… start scrolling.

Can any of my readers relate to this feeling? After watching the documentary “The Social Dilemma”, it is easy to see how addictive social media platforms can be. It has strengthened my resolve even further to PUT THE PHONE DOWN and get back to living life.

So, for my one or two blog friends (hi Grammy! hi Johnny!) I will make this promise to you now: no more Facebook scrolling for the rest of 2022!

If you’re with me, and you’d like to take part in this challenge, feel free to comment below! To supercharge your intent, here is a fantastic quote by Roald Dahl, one of my favorite children’s authors of all time.

Even though you may feel like it is outdated, I personally feel that its relevance could not be more pertinent today.

Enjoy 🙂

So please, oh please,

we beg, we pray,

Go throw your TV set away,

and in its place, you can install,

A lovely bookcase on your wall.

Roald Dahl