Inspiring / Internet Addiction / Online Writing
What 20 Days Without Medium Taught Me About Internet Addiction
The First 3 Days Were The Hardest!
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I just came back from a 20-day holiday in sunny Sicily, Italy, to visit my parents. It may sound great, but the truth is that it wasn’t easy!
Not only was the trip long and exhausting, and the heat made it hard to breathe, but mainly because of Medium.
Before going on holiday, I was obsessed with Medium’s stats. I would check them more often than a healthy person should, to say the least. The day before my trip, I made the perhaps not-so-brilliant decision to launch my publication (find it below).
I had already scheduled a couple of articles to go live during my time away, partly to maintain my presence on the platform and partly to keep my girlfriend from killing me!
Obviously, I couldn’t write while being with her on holiday. I knew it wasn’t healthy to be so glued to my stats, but I couldn’t help it, mostly because I wanted to know how my new baby was doing.
The first three days without Medium were the hardest. I watched my stats drop and felt a knot in my stomach. I consider myself a perfectionist, and seeing those numbers fall below my usual standards was tough. I knew that to do well on Medium, engagement is key, but I also knew that I couldn’t engage nearly as much as I wanted to.
All in all, I realized that I wasn’t enjoying my stay in Italy as much because of Medium, and that’s when I had a wake-up call. I needed to come back to earth and focus on the important things in life. I was there with my girlfriend, in a beautiful country, and I was missing out.
I thought, “I’m stronger than this application!” so I tried to forget about Medium. Sadly, it wasn’t easy.
I managed to reduce the time spent on it drastically, only reading one or two articles from my favorite writers when I had some time. All of a sudden, and quite surprisingly, I found myself caring less about the stats and Medium. I started to relax and enjoy my vacation more.
This experience taught me a valuable lesson: perhaps I had finally won over Medium’s grip on me.
Of course, it’s a positive thing to be passionate about something, but it shouldn’t consume your life. Balance is key. Being able to recognize when it’s enough is important, and stepping back can help you see the bigger picture with different eyes.
If you find yourself obsessing over Medium stats, Instagram, or anything else, just take a step back. Life has so much more to offer, and sometimes, all you need is a break to remind you of that!
I’m happy to be finally back! 🤗
