Hola Sober July

Why I Quit Social Media

by Gayle MacDonald

It’s been 4 years since I quit drinking and 4 months since I quit social media. I was only really on there for business and like me, so many small business owners have been brainwashed into thinking it’s the only way to make money online, and, I get it. Taking that leap to leave can feel terrifying. As a coach with a successful online brand, I worried that if I left social media all my clients would disappear, my website would grind to a halt, the income would stop and I would vanish, never to be seen again. But when social media began to feel like more of an addiction than a business tool I knew I had no choice but to leave. One of my business friends explains how she hates the addictive draw to checking social media and posting and taking pics/videos of EVERYTHING in her life but, she sticks with it because well, that’s what you do right? I used to secretly feel pleased when the internet went off or we had a power cut or there was no phone signal because I had a genuine excuse, I wasn’t actually able to be on, look at, or engage with social media at all. I dreamed of weekends in remote log cabins cut off from the world or the time when I could leave social media forever.

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