In an age where everyone is looking down at their phones, Cameron is the one with his head up actually experiencing life (unless his fantasy football team is playing, of course). Cameron rarely uses Facebook and doesn’t have an Instagram, Twitter, or any other social media pages. He’s the type that double-taps an Instagram post in an attempt to zoom in, when really he just made me ‘like’ someone’s photo that I was totally creeping on. I, on the other hand, love social media…so much so that creating posts for businesses is part of my job. Do what you love, right?
It’s funny what people can teach you about something they know very little about. The fact that he’s not always scrolling through a feed is refreshing, and the last few months he has made me question how I use social media. I still love it, of course, but I have started to put more thought into how I use it and why.
A few things I’ve learned from social media-less Cameron:
Don’t follow people who drive you insane every time they post.
You know that person that you love to hate? The one that you pick apart how ridiculous/annoying/etc their posts are? I’m definitely guilty of this. Cameron once asked me why I would choose to follow someone who drove me insane. I didn’t have a single good reason, so I clicked unfollow.
Don’t half-ass your favorite TV show.
I used to be somewhat paying attention to a TV show, while simultaneously on my computer looking at blogs/Pinterest/email/etc. Cameron called me out for not picking up on what was happening in one of our favorite shows, so I finally started putting the phone and laptop away and really watching TV. This is sad to admit, but I almost forgot what it was like to watch a show without any distractions. It’s so much more enjoyable than trying to do two things at once! I’ve also started only watching shows I actually care about, and turning it off otherwise. And if you were wondering, yes, I did just give you a tip on how to better-enjoy your TV shows…
Don’t look at social media before bed.
Scrolling the Instagram feed before bed (and when we wake up) is something my generation is known for. I actually found a statistic the other day that 90% of 18-30 year olds look at social media before they get out of bed. I started questioning if I really wanted to start and end my days by staring at photos of other people. Of course not.
Before you follow someone, ask “why?”
I’ve started doing this because I’ve noticed my feed will get cluttered with a bunch of people/companies/etc that I’m really not that interested in. The other day, I followed 6 interior designers on Instagram because I read an article about how ‘everyone’ should follow them. Well, the thing is I don’t really care about interior design right now. Now I ask myself “why” before I click follow, and only follow if I’m genuinely interested.
Instagram filters can actually make you look worse.
I think we’ve all gotten so used to Instagram’s filters that we think turning ourselves orange actually looks good. I realized this when showing Cameron one of my Instagram photos, and his first reaction was, “But why do we look so weird?” I started looking at filters a little differently, and now I use Litely, an app that has more natural looking filters. I love it!
Think before you send.
I can easily write a mediocre Facebook or blog post in a few minutes. I’ve found that most people who hate writing are also perfectionists, so they can’t handle it if a sentence doesn’t sound just right. I think one of the reasons I’m able to blog consistently is because I’m not a perfectionist and I’m not afraid of words. But, I find that when I take my time to toy with something a little longer and go one level deeper, my content is much better. The social world is meant to be instantaneous (hence the ‘insta’ in Instagram), but I’m trying to reign it in and mull things over just a little longer before I hit “send.”
How do you balance real life with social media?
I made a New Year’s resolution to be more present, and to spend less time on my phone and more time actually living my life. So, I’m challenging myself (and you) to wake up and smell the roses, not the Instagram. Whether it’s time spent cuddling with my dog, drinking coffee while looking at my pretty backyard, or actually being on time (maybe even EARLY!?) to my workout, I am going to break the habit and instead enjoy the little things that I miss when I’m looking down at my phone – even if it’s just for 15 minutes. Who’s with me?
Living Unbalanced 
