I survived 2 hours without social media. And it sucked.

                                           

I was reading an article the other day about how yet another person gave up social media and their life changed. They were happier and blah, blah, blah. Apart from the irony that I came upon this article on social media, I find these articles really dumb. The argument that people have ( in my humble opinion because it is my blog and I will say what I want to) is the same as the argument that they had when photography was introduced and it was going to send us all to hell. Our lives change, evolve, move on.

I love social media. I embrace it. I use it a lot. I wake up first thing in the morning and check my facebook and instagram. My phone is never out of my reach. I panic - like a hot sweaty panic when I can't find my phone. Well I hope that's what it is and not menopause or whatever form of menopause comes first. I watch dog videos. I got angry with my friend because it tool her so long to get facebook ( I'm looking at you Nicole) because I had so many funny things I wanted to send her. I just don't understand how quitting social media is going to make me happier. Social media makes me happy.

I decided yesterday that due to my data on my phone being chewed up for no apparent reason (except maybe for my addiction to youtube makeup tutorials and said funny dog videos), I was going to no check my instagram or facebook while I went to the doctor. This is a test because we all know how long you wait at the Doctors. I was not allowed to check until I got home.

This is how it went. I looked out the window of the car, I saw a young man dressed like an American Redneck get out of his car. I made fun of his outfit. Then I saw him get his granny out of the car and hold her by the arm and take her into the breast scan clinic. Then I felt bad.

In the Doctors surgery I settled in for the 30 minute wait for my appointment. This is the ideal time to use social media (like when you are on public transport- it unsettles people when you looks around at them). I tried to talk to my husband who was next to me, but he was busy on Facebook. I watched the tv reading the subtitles that they put on for deaf people. That was entertaining picking out the mistakes. For about 1 minute. Then I started watching people and getting really annoyed and impatient. I became aware of how long I was waiting. People started to irritate me. I was actually looking forward to the Doctor sticking a big needle in my arm.

Once I had finished at at the Doctor I went to the shop to get toilet paper. I think my husband wished I was on Facebook because I whinged the whole way there about how sore my arm was. And I kept telling him how brave I was. I don't think he was listening. And I forgot to buy the toilet paper. But I did get a packet of mint slice biscuits.

So how did my 2 hour experience of no social media go? Bad. I was bored. It didn't make me happy. It made me unhappy. I like knowing what my friends are doing. I like seeing their stuff. I love looking at those friends who I have only because they annoy me so much that I get a weird kind of joy from their posts (don't judge- we all have those friends). I also love having a good stalk. There is nothing like that feeling when the person you are stalking has not put their account to private. Its like winning the lottery. 

I read my news on social media, I find out about stuff. It is a real thing. It makes boring times enjoyable. Because you can mindlessly scroll down your feed you can eavesdrop on someone else's conversation without them ever knowing. No matter how bad your day is you can always find a funny dog or cat video to make you smile. I really do want to see people's holiday photos, or food photos, or drunk photos. I like knowing you are vegan, on a diet ........ (fill in the blanks), and I have become really really good at knowing when someone is about to, or has just broken up with their loved ones. 

My advice? If it is making you unhappy- maybe stay off it, or find some more enjoyable people to follow.