According to a recent survey, at least 61% of Fortune500 CEOs are not active on any of the major social networks – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn.

Working in the digital industry, around websites and social media  – this initially perplexed me.

But then again, (CEO or not) is participation in social media necessary?

Off the back of my own social media hiatus, I’m going to say no.

Obviously social media has a function for companies, but I wouldn’t say it is necessary for a CEO to be incredibly active on social media 24/7, that is not the single indicator of a good CEO.

I digress –

The choice to have a social media account is not a necessary one, it is an optional one; it is seemingly necessary.

While I remained active on Instagram, reducing my communication on Facebook made a difference. In around 6 days, my mood and attention span had improved.
Life was quieter, and I was less anxious.

I told 9 people I was taking a break from Facebook; I removed the app from the front page of my phone and disabled the notifications  for Messenger. I have re-enabled them, but no longer have the flashing LED, vibration or noises enabled.

Taking my power back, my right to be communicated with and to genuinely communicate with others. Reducing my time on Facebook brought back a healthy amount of mystery/mystique to my life; I wasn’t serving up my activities and thoughts into a newsfeed.

With good enough practice and reduced input, the quality of my relationships will improve as a result of less time on Facebook.

Instagram and Twitter – (the latter I do not use so much any more) certainly aren’t perfect; but Facebook happened to be my kryptonite. Twitter is an avalanche of short, sharp unfiltered news and opinion, and Instagram is better titled as Envy-gram.

Let’s talk about influencers;

Having influence is not necessary for enjoyment – not online, not ever.

In taking a break from social media, I re-engaged with engagement and what it means to feel really – for lack of a better word – engaged with the world and with people.

I use social media, particularly Facebook, because I’m sentimental; I want to be able to to keep in touch with friends near and far, to preserve my witticisms  (what few there are!), upload and share the things that interest me.  As I do with my blog, I enjoy publishing my thoughts – in long form or short form –  and it’s nice to occasionally scroll through old photos….

I hang out with some cool people – most of them aren’t former Federal Ministers(!)

I realise the irony in me talking about a break from social media on social media, but life isn’t a perfect thing.
Take the break from social media every now and again. I recommend it.

Social Media is not necessary to the human experience.
Look above the screen and away from the insta-lens and have more human experience!

Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing again!

A x