I Quit Social Media, and Now I've Reclaimed My Time


Published On August 26, 2023 by JR Nievas
(Last edited on October 18, 2023)

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“What benefits could you receive from stepping away from social media? Would you be more productive? more focused? In what ways might your life change?”

– Matt D’ Avella

At the end of 2022, I decided to temporarily deactivate my Facebook account. It started as an experiment at first, but as months passed by, I realized that using social media isn’t truly necessary for me. Maybe it’s because I was a student at that time. And I realized that every time I’m using Social Media, I notice how it consumes my time. So I thought, ‘Is this really how I want to spend my time?’

Then the year 2023 arrived. I pondered about other important aspects of my life that I could engage with if I didn’t use social media. It was at that moment that I realized I needed to make changes. Taking that into consideration, I have made a list of alternative activities to replace it. Here are some of activities I listed:

  • Writing or Journaling
  • Reading
  • Cleaning
  • Decluttering
  • Organizing my stuffs
  • Scheduling my important tasks
  • Doing my spiritual routines such as personal study and ministry
  • Meditating
  • Exercise
  • Listening to music or creating a playlists

I found great enjoyment in engaging in these activities. Rather than being bored, I found satisfaction on it. Writing, for instance, was particularly fulfilling. It felt like I was jotting down my special memories and important thoughts in my notes, that will create fascinating treasures that could be restored and retrieved by my self in the future. It was so satisfying and I truly loved it! This makes me more creative the way I didn’t expect.

Later, I read a book that proved to be incredibly helpful in making time for the activities I cherish and consider important. For instance, one quote from that book helps me recognize the importance of maintaining connections with my family and friends even without using my Facebook account. It says, You might use Facebook to keep in touch with family, but is it really the best way to do that? Would you be better off calling them?’

I certainly agree! It’s also beneficial to contemplate that question. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Facebook isn’t contributing anything in terms of these matters. In fact, despite deactivating my account (for a significant reason, as I wanted to reclaim my time), I occasionally log in when I think it is necessary. Once I’m finished, I log out of my account and don’t revisit it until I find it necessary again.

I remember reading an online article that stated that in the Philippines alone, online users spend an average of three hours and 53 minutes on social media each day, which is almost 4 hours. This usage consumes a significant amount of time that could be better spent on more important activities. That’s really, really—well, not really—surprising! Isn’t it? Because I’ve also become a ‘victim’ of that thing. Are you?

Pros and Cons

There came a time when someone asked me how I was. They mentioned that they couldn’t find me on Facebook. So I explained that I had temporarily deactivated my account because it seemed like I didn’t really need it at the time.

One of my friends then commented regarding of updating online status. He said, ‘Well, that’s true too. Even if you post about your status, nothing really change.’  I agreed with what he said. Sometimes, it’s not always necessary to update myself on social media just so others know how I’m doing. It’s quite amusing when they ask me in person. In a way, the outcome of deactivating my account is still positive.

But of course, there are still downsides. I remember when I needed to join a private group on Facebook because I was looking for a job. Since I didn’t have many recent posts on Facebook—most of my posts date back to 2022—the admin of the Facebook group I wanted to join didn’t approve my request. Perhaps it was due to that reason. And that’s one of the downsides I see with deactivating a social media account. It becomes a reason for others to doubt whether your account is genuine or not.

Conclusion

It’s been a while now, and at this point, I have more control over my time. But yes, there was a time when I slipped away, and I admit it. And it seems like everyone else I know does too.

Anyway, now I spend my time doing things I love, such as reading, writing, and organizing and managing my schedule. I’ve also dedicated time to maintaining our well-being, taking care of our home, and more.

Though there are both positive and negative aspects to this, I believe that engaging in such activities from time to time could help me become more focused and productive, enabling me to prioritize things that are important to me. What about you?

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3 thoughts on “I Quit Social Media, And Now I’ve Reclaimed My Time”

  1. Nice one brother Nievas… I too stay away from Social media… It’s a mad house out there. And I may seem paranoid but I, at the same time cut off all worldly movies, novels and songs… It’s becoming too hard to find manageable stuff out there… Well I saw your book collection I’ve read all of them. I have a few others I bought from another brother. Very interesting his books are about the Great tribulation and more.

  2. of course like your website but you have to check the spelling on several of your posts A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very troublesome to inform the reality on the other hand I will certainly come back again

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