REAL TALK TUESDAY: Disconnecting & FOMO

We live in a strange world, no? I often think about how incredible it is – this age of technology and how we use it to interact with each other on a daily basis… It is possible we can be connected to one another via our phones and/or the internet at all times. It’s kind of crazy. And I’ll admit it stresses me out a little.

We just got back from a mini vacation up north to the eastern part of the U.P. of Michigan – little to no cell service and mostly Canadian towers. And spotty wifi even when I could connect. I wanted to share photos and such from our trip on Instagram but I quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen the way I wanted it to, or the way I was used to with good cell service. I somewhat felt it was necessary and a part of my “job” to share bits and pieces of the trip, but was able to change that narrative (what I was telling myself) so it didn’t cause me stress when I knew I wouldn’t be able to capture everything as I had hoped.

But not sharing the trip in real time wasn’t really that big of a deal. I was more so concerned about keeping up with my standard posting schedule – which also didn’t happen. Last year I would have stressed out and probably walked down a quarter mile to the wifi spot to connect every morning and evening to make sure I was keeping up with everything. Using the excuse “It’s part of my job!” feeling the need to explain myself to my in-laws for having to step away so often and stay connected. But this year we left for vacation and I kind of already knew I’d be forced to take a break. There were times I was annoyed but then there were also times I was thankful.

Thankful I wasn’t actually on m phone the whole time, really only using my phone to capture photos.

Thankful there was very little pressure to stay connected because I didn’t have the ability to anyhow.

Thankful for time away and just living in the moment and not through my screen. Drew and his brother were good reminders for that too – anti-phone/social media to an extent. 

My fellow bloggers/IGers know what I mean. And while this post may be more relatable to those folk from a business standpoint, I am sure even if being connected to the world wide web isn’t a part of your job, you could possibly still use the break.

It’s crazy to me how much we are addicted to our phones. I admit I definitely am. I do this weird, obsessive compulsive social media-email check on my phone I don’t even want to know how many times a day.

And when I see families together (mine included) and their all on their phones or some piece of technology, it definitely makes me stop and think.

It makes me think about whether or not we REALLY need to be connected? Are we really missing out on anything?

Well, actually yeah. We’re missing out on living our own lives. Living in the moment and not always through a screen.

And yes, I realize this could come across as hypocritical. Hold your eye rolls, please. I am not saying to get off your phones or the internet entirely. Obviously or I’d be out of a job. But I’m just saying we have this obsession with having to be connected all the time. And there seems to be this fear of disconnecting and missing out. And maybe even the pressure to be connected just because everyone else seems to be… But there has to be some kind of balance, right? Whether it’s once a week, every other week, limiting screen time to certain hours of the day. You may find yourself picking up a book you’ve been wanting to read for ages. Or going through your closet and getting rid of junk… Or working on a room in your house you’ve been neglecting… Ya know? Shit you may even find yourself HAPPIER because you’re not constantly seeing what everyone else is doing and comparing your life to others…

This post isn’t here to tell you how to have a great relationship with your phone and social media. I’m just sharing my thoughts on the matter and things I’ve been thinking about after getting back from a vacation, while being forced to actually disconnect, unplug, and just enjoy life without the screen in front of me 90% of the time.

Just unfiltered real talk.

I hope you give this topic some thought and maybe think about how you can find some balance in your life. And also know you’re not alone in the struggle – if you feel like you’re struggling and being pulled in one direction or the other. It’s really okay to disconnect – I promise everything will be there waiting for you when you come back.

let’s chat:

• What are your thoughts on your phone usage?
• Do you have a hard time disconnecting? 
• Have you  tried disconnecting for a certain amount of time? What did you do with your (extra) time?