One of those 'social media detoxes'...

I took an accidental social media break, the other day. 

Well, not really. Let me explain. It was my 24^th birthday, and I promise I'm not deliberately being a douchebag when I say...I was nervous about my notifications. Yes, I know, I am bloody lucky (and delighted) to have over 5K followers on Twitter, nearly 2K on Insta and over 1K friends on Facey B (I really must do a clear out on there, though. Bigots posting unfunny dog memes have no place on my news feed tbh). I gained all my followers in 100% above board ways (for some reason you hit a certain number and people start accusing you of buying people/bots?!), and I consider a lot of them friends. In fact, I've found some of my low key soul mates online in recent years.

However, I did not want to be overwhelmed with notifications and messages on my birthday. Simple as. I only checked into Facey B and Insta a few times, just to upload photos of me with coffee and/or cake – and I didn't touch Twitter. It wasn't a deliberate avoidance at first; I just thought I'd check it when I got the chance, between venues or on the train...but I didn't. And then by the evening, I had accepted that I would not be tweeting – or tweet-reading – at all that day. It felt weird, as I live on Twitter most days. But it also felt right – like a relief. And then a nice bonus was the next day, when I'd had a lot of shit abruptly thrown my way on top of the usual big birthday hangover I had to contend with – I had 100+ messages of love and good wishes to cheer me the f*ck up.

Does anyone else make resolutions on their birthday? I mean, it's like a 'new year' thing, isn't it? Well, this year I'm making the resolution to stop living and lurking on social media every hour of every day. I may construct a routine of some kind; airplane mode after 9pm, reading with my green tea in the mornings instead of refreshing Insta constantly, and be more strict with data usage – no wifi? No browsing, missy!

I also have a lot of author pals who swear by leaving their phones in the next room – or even with a partner – when they have writing to do and a deadline to work to. Well, I'm a writer with deadlines (more and more these days), so maybe I should give this a go. 

Phones and social media can be magical and miraculous, yes, but let's not forget they are also a massive distraction. I am so not justified in preaching about this, as I am perhaps the worst offender, but my goodness it's so important to put the phone away while you're walking places or talking with friends. Take things in, look at others' faces, be there. You might just find a hidden meaning in something, or be struck by the perfect inspo when you least expect it, or even meet The One...then again, you can find plenty of beautiful inspiring things on social media, and The One may just be the next swipe along on Tinder. Who knows? I'm not telling you to swear off socials, remember. I'm saying: everything in moderation. Take breaks. That's what I'm gonna do. And obviously, I'll let you readers know how this new resolution – this minor life change – works out for me.