a farewell to social media--for the time being

After much contemplation I have officially decided it's time to say good-bye to social media for awhile.

There was a twinge of sadness Sunday night after I clicked "yes" to "Are you sure you want to permanently delete your instagram account"? I opened that account (my original handle was Jennanney82 but it had been hippieofhealthcare since the Fall of 2013) in 2010--right before anyone knew what instagram was. In fact, the only reason I downloaded the app was because of my obsession with various photo apps. I had no idea that instagram was a social media site nor anything about following people or that people could follow me. I thought my feed was private until someone asked me why I posted the same picture (of myself) several times with different filters. I was slightly mortified when I realized others could see my posts.

However, after having nearly 1900 photos linked to that account, I decided it's time for a new chapter in my life. I did, however, save all of those delightful photos with the help of instaport so if you are dying to have an old picture of us together then just email me and I'll pull it out of the archives.

I could tell you that the reasons I'm doing this are because social media has a tendency to be a time-waster and a way of sucking you into caring about things you didn't even know existed until you saw it on facebook or instagram. 

 I could tell you that in an attempt to be more mindful, I'm getting rid of unnecessary distractions. 

I could tell you that I've grown tired of knowing what you're doing and where you're going and what you think about the president, religion, and clean-eating. 

I could tell you that I want more for my mind and my brain than to be constantly bombarded with seemingly needless information that typically resides on a very surface level and that it's altered my I.Q to a sub-standard-par that I am no longer okay with. 

And those are factors in my reasoning to get off social media, but the real reason I'm saying good-bye can be said in one simple statement: I need to pass my board exam. 

I'm also getting rid of cable (gasp!).

Given that I'm highly distractible and would much rather study your behavior (especially as it relates to facebook) than study for my boards, I think this a wise move on my behalf. 

I know you will miss my random posts and articles about love & relationships from Elephant Journal and sex, drugs, and rock n' roll from Brain Pickings and culture pieces from The Atlantic--along with pictures of me doing yoga poses in dresses--oh, and let's not forget my affinity for posting deep, meaningful, and usually morbid quotes (like the one below).

"I had a dream you stopped by the shop and helped us get more followers for Facebook and twitter. And then you showed up tomorrow and were like "here!" and you threw 5000 likes on me and it felt like slugs. And smelled like fried chicken. I was so confused. I vomited a rainbow." 

 ~Duane Schor, We Had A #Dream About You 

My facebook profile should be gone by the end of the week. 

I trust that you all will carry on as usual and if anything truly exciting or legendary happens, I insist you let me know. Also, don't forget to remind me of your birthday because without facebook, I have absolutely no idea when your special day of birth is--or any other major event for that matter.

I can't wait to see how many of you are engaged, have had babies, gotten divorced, and started your own non-profit when I decide to rejoin the social media world again. 

Until then, 

I remain,

As always,

Jennifer