I know what you’re thinking, “She’s only been off of social media for a couple of weeks and a few days, that’s not a break.” And you are right, it wasn’t much of a break but during these past few weeks I’ve learned a lot. In today’s world it’s so incredibly hard not to base your worth off of how many likes, comments, messages and shares you get after posting something on social media. Sometimes life gets rough, sometimes your heart gets let down, sometimes you need time to yourself. All of this pushed me to the point where I just needed a break, I realized that I was consumed by the social media apps that were on my phone and life should be about so much more than people’s thoughts regarding what’s on a screen.

In reality people don’t care if I’m on social media or not, in fact I’m sure a lot of people would prefer me not to be on it, because ‘the world doesn’t need another blogger or instagram influencer’ but I do my best to cultivate a difference and I’m not going to let negative thoughts stop that. I needed to get away from what was on my screen, I didn’t want to see it anymore, I didn’t want to be wasting hours on end scrolling through feeds. Having the guts to delete my social media apps on my phone took a lot. My phone is somewhat of my security blanket, so it was hard to take the step away for a moment. But in these past few weeks I realized a few different things:

-Your worth does NOT depend upon the amount of likes, shares, comments and messages you get after posting.

-Connecting on a deeper level is way more important than connecting via a screen.

-Taking time away from social media can put a lot into perspective and open up time to put towards other things in life. 

-Moderation is key.

Social media has brought so many different aspects into my life, not only is it a part of my job, but it also brings on comparisons. Comparisons to others and what companies are endorsing them, how many followers others have, comparing relationships and everything else. It isn’t healthy. Just because I may not get 5k likes or have 20k followers does not mean that I do not have worth. I needed to take a break from it to realize why I started this blog in the first place, I want to inspire others, I want to relate to others and be vulnerable in what I write about. While it would be amazing to have more of a following in order to reach more people, what matters is the fact that I am reaching even one person.

Building relationships in a world of social media is almost impossible. Call me old school, but I want to know people beyond what’s on their social media. I want to know people for who they actually are, not for what is portrayed on Instagram or Facebook. Because when it comes down to it if we aren’t taking the time to connect with others in real life than what is the point of having social media at all? It seems like it’d be pointless.

When I deleted the apps off of my phone I had so much more time to put into other things. I’ve been going to the temple a lot more often, I took the time to organize my room, get errands done and go to the gym everyday. It allowed me to not waste so much time mindlessly scrolling, instead I was able to sort through my thoughts and decide on what I need to work on in my life.

Moderation with social media is something that is key. Shortly after I made the decision to go off of social media I had to take a step back and realize that sometimes posting is a part of my job. It’s also a huge part of my life, being a model, photographer and blogger it’s linked to all of my careers. But just because having social media is vital to my careers, doesn’t mean that it has to consume my life. Limiting myself to how much I’ll be on social media will help me to create a balance that is manageable and works with my lifestyle.

There are so many pros and cons to social media and I hope that through keeping social media I will be able to impact someone and make a difference in their life. I may not be on it as often as I used to be but it’s something I’m not ready to give up on completely.

How do you use social media to improve your life?

Photos took place in Mykonos Greece at the coolest abandoned lighthouse in the middle of nowhere. I will be blogging more about my travels and so much more each week. Some exciting stuff is coming up so be sure to subscribe and follow along.

Dress: Urban Outfitters

Extensions: Laced Hair Clip Ins (https://lacedhair.com/collections/i-do-clip-ins/products/clip-in-hair-extensions-60-platinum-blonde)

XOXO

Lex