We all use social media differently. For me, Facebook is how I stay connected with friends and family, yet I rarely post on my personal page. I have two Facebook pages for my business where I post regularly, one for Adventures in Seeing and one for the book. Twitter is where I stay up to date with the latest news and find and share interesting articles posted by others.

I’m most active on Instagram, posting photos almost daily (except for the last three months), usually of the contemplative variety. This is where I find most photographers are these days, people I’ve met through my workshops, as well as personal friends and family. I run the Celebrate Impermanence workshop on Instagram (it’s starting up on April 9th, if you’re interested).

All three platforms are a way to get a glimpse into people’s lives and what they care about. They are real life lite.

Social media is a tool. As with any tool, it can be used for good or harm and it can become addictive.

In his new book, Zen Camera, author and photographer David Ulrich has an interesting section on social media. He describes the activities of checking email, social media, or messages as distractions. They may be necessary at times but they can take attention away from your most important work. He suggests noticing how you feel in your body and where your attention is going when engaged in these activities. For example, what’s your motivation for posting something online? Is it to make you feel better or like you’re productive or is it to get likes? Ulrich suggests doing acts of resistance, like not picking up your phone when you feel pulled to do so. How does that make you feel?

“Acts of resistance can build the force of your attention and help in the practice of presence. When you interrupt a powerful flow, energy is freed, liberated, and can be used for deep purpose – to bring your attention back to yourself and to the many things and people that genuinely deserve your care.” ~ David Ulrich, Zen Camera

My Social Media Experiment

I found that I was mindlessly scrolling far too often and wondered what would happen if I went off of social media for three months. I wanted to use this time to re-think how I use social media, and also to engage in deep work. So, in that sense it was an act of resistance.

Most mornings I read and wrote with the door to my office closed and no phone in the room. Every hour, I took a break for a walk, food, or some other task. No checking email. In the afternoons, I did other work and responded to emails. Although Flickr can be a social site, I use it as a place to store images and run classes, not to interact socially.

What did I discover? First, that it wasn’t difficult at all. I always find it easier to give up something completely, rather than just cutting down. There was an immediate sense of increased spaciousness in my life and I found I could concentrate more deeply on my work. Between books on my shelf or news and inspiration from email newsletters I’m subscribed to, I found plenty to read. Although I felt somewhat disconnected at times and missed seeing posts from friends and family, I found that this was a small price to pay for the benefits received. There are other ways of reaching out and staying connected.

An argument that many people use for being constantly connected to social media is that it’s a must for their business. That may be true for some. Yet, I know plenty of people – musicians, authors, business people, etc., who do not use social media and reach people in different ways. Cal Newport, a business teacher, blogger, and author, is one of them. In an email I received recently, he talked about the difference between the social Internet and social media.

“The social internet describes the general ways in which the global communication network and open protocols known as “the internet” enable good things like connecting people, spreading information, and supporting expression and activism. Social media, by contrast, describes the attempt to privatize these capabilities by large companies within the newly emerged algorithmic attention economy, a particularly virulent strain of the attention sector that leverages personal data and sophisticated algorithms to ruthlessly siphon users’ cognitive capital.” ~ Cal Newport, On Social Media and its Discontents

Newport recommends two approaches. 

1. To mindfully decide why and how you will use social media (which is what I’ve been doing for the past three months).

2. To own your own domain, meaning a website that you pay for. I’ve been doing this for years and find that it is by far the best way to build my business. Most people stay connected with me through my blog, classes, and emailed newsletter. The key is to create content that people want to read.

That’s not to say that social media doesn’t play a part. It does, but it’s not the biggest part.

Will I go back? Yes, but on a much more disciplined and limited basis. I’ll probably spend a little time in the evening checking my feeds after work is done for the day. I don’t receive notifications for social media updates; only for text messages. And, there are no social media apps on my phone, so that to go on these platforms I have to do so on my iPad. I’ll continue using Instagram for my business and I haven’t yet decided about Facebook. We’ll see how it goes moving forward.

How do you mindfully use social media? Or, do you?

** Books mentioned have Amazon affiliate links, meaning I make a few cents if you purchase through my link. I only recommend books that I’ve read.