The last few posts about the reasonable consumption of social networks have aroused unexpected interest in you. "Why I stopped actively using social networks", "A new model of life in social networks" and, of course, a story about how social networks turn you into a being dissatisfied with the world and yourself "About missed opportunities". But not only Lifehacker writes on this topic. The theme is hanging in the air, and you just need to start thinking about it and change it. We thought you might be interested in the experience of Stephen Corona @stevencorona, co-founder of the popular TwitPic service, who shares the story "How 30 days without social networks changed my life." Below we offer you a translation of his story.
30 days ago I decided to live a month without social networks. And here is my story that I am alive and well, and that the last month has been the most successful and productive in my life.
Twitter, Facebook*, Reddit and news have been blacklisted. The goal of renouncing social media was to add more meaning to life. I wanted to stop the unconscious consumption of information and devote more time to real friends. To be fair, I've used Facebook* and Twiiter five times during this time to cross-post my blog entries. This does not bother me, since these actions increased the impact of what I was doing (if only because the views of my thoughts, framed in the blog, grew).
In the first days, I began to notice amazing symptoms — in the new open Google Chrome tab, I was constantly typing on the machine, I began to worry that I stopped getting constant entertainment from Twitter.
It was getting better. From the absence of Twitter, it began to let go after a few days. But on Facebook* I missed. I still miss him, because there were constant conversations in him, which are now gone.
Hey, did you see how Ryan was hitting you in that photo?
The benefits of such fasting were not long in coming. I was able to start walking with a clear mind, I started creating things again, making independent decisions. I stopped sucking on the incessant information flow.
I have written more words in these 30 days than in my entire life. Maybe because I finished my language courses this year. I had more than 20 entries in my drafts that risked never becoming posts. But after getting extra time and focus, I finished them.
I sat down and began to think about what gives meaning to my life, what really matters. It wasn't easy. James Altucher talks about the need to write down ideas on a daily basis, which I began to do. Writing down any 30 ideas a day that constantly come unexpectedly to your mind, you will notice how some stay with you and begin to be implemented. Try it!
I began to imitate Tim Ferris @tferriss and began to advertise my new book without writing a word. My concept of "Scaling PHP Applications" should become a book in the future. I have enough experience to write such a book, but I didn't know if anyone else was interested in it. I made a promo page and waited.
The response was overwhelming — thousands of people subscribed to the announcements, and hundreds were so inspired that they pre-ordered it and subscribed to the newsletter of new chapters even before the book itself was ready! I am currently working on the fourth chapter, and the book will be released on July 1 this year.
My previous morning looked like this: I got up, checked what was new on Facebook*, checked what was new on Twitter. I was wasting my time.
It's time to change everything. I am lucky that my work allows me to wake up when my body and consciousness want it. Usually it is 9-10 o'clock in the morning. Because of this, I don't feel sleep deprived. As soon as I wake up, I immediately have breakfast, drink mate tea, and then meditate for 5-10 minutes before I write something in my diary.
Meditation is a complicated thing, which in theory looks nice and simple. But it was difficult for me to learn. But even a short-term purification of consciousness and a state of rest helps to open up to a new day.
Not knowing what your friends are doing every second is freedom. It's amazing how much you can discuss at a meeting if you don't report every minor action to social networks. I strengthened my friendship with old friends and made a couple of new acquaintances, and also started a real relationship.
Would I have new relationships and friends if I stayed in the web of social networks? I don't know for sure, but it seems to me that the secret is just not knowing what is happening before the actual meeting.
For many years he was a big fan of running. I adore him. I lived by running (I ran 5 km every day for the last month). This month I raised the bar and started running 8 km and even won several competitions.
What are my plans? I'm going back to social media. It's quite interesting to see again how "Ryan took a photo with me." But I will no longer plunge into the old routine of constant consumption, the new model is much better. I like to create — to program, draw, write and all that. I want to keep doing this. Only creation gave meaning to my life.
If I want to read or write a post on social networks, then I will do it meaningfully. For example, I won't read Facebook* and Twitter from my phone. And no more Reddit — it turned out that there was ZERO real benefit from it. I like the information diet that I have been on and will continue to be on.
Instagram Facebook and social networks owned by Meta Platforms Inc. are prohibited from operating in the territory of the Russian Federation.*
