Well I guess the title pretty much sums it up... it's a pretty darn good title right?
It got to a point where all of this began to feel like work, posting pictures, updating, figuring out what to write and what pictures to have accompany the text. I told myself before I began that once things began to feel like work I'd stop, cause this was all supposed to be fun. Well that's my excuse for further procrastination on this site.
I've taken over a month away from social media, not checking or posting things on Instagram and I have to admit it's fantastic! Granted I've also been away partially but everyone should try it, its refreshing to go live life instead of being hunched over devices looking at what others are pretending to be up to.
So... now that I've had the break I've come back with an epiphany. Filtering out excessive noise and information overload. While its important to keep up to date with things, the biggest issue with social media is the amount of crap that gets put out there, all for the sake of getting eyeballs. It has caused many of us to be affected by a disease I'm calling S.N.A.P.™ - Social Network Addiction Paralysis. Over the years I think I've done pretty well filtering my news and current affairs consumption and now it was time to trim the fat on social media.
100 Following :: Purge done!
While the idea of trimming isn't new or something I originated I think it's great. Most of us fill up our timelines and feeds with so much content for the fear of missing out, I believe if its important enough, you'll come to know about it. So I began the trimming. I decided to set myself a number, 100. I will not follow more then 100 people/accounts on anything. If I come across something new or more relevant, in order to add it I have to kick someone out.
A hundred might still sound like a lot, but I had to start somewhere and I thought I could manage that number. Think about your feeds and who or how you'd cut down to 100 and it begins to seem a little tougher. I had to shed a few hundred and that was interesting, wondering if I'd offend anyone. But I'm not done, the idea is to get it down to 50 next!
Having done the purge I feel partially liberated, not being overwhelmed with noise. In fact I can now check my social media once a day and see everything within a few minutes. I am no longer flooded with irrelevant information and I'd recommend it to everyone!
It's not just the younger generations that suffer from S.N.A.P.™ (Social Network Addiction Paralysis)
Now the feeds I get are either from people I know personally (that don't feel the need to show the world their food, pets, etc several times a day), relevant companies, people who's work I like/inspires me and some curators which allows me to see a variety of work and what's popular/trending/relevant.
I hope the people I've "cut" don't take it too personally, and I know if others do the detox I'd be on the chopping block too but I'm ok with that. After all it has been said, being famous on social media is like having millions in monopoly money... it's not real people.
:: bryan