Why I Quit All Social Networks for 30 Days and Will Not Do It Again Soon
By Simão Pires
After watching a brilliant presentation from Nir Eyal, “How to Build Habit-Forming Products” at The Next Web Conference on how a few companies very quickly change and shape certain of our behaviours, I have decided to put myself through a 30 Days Challenge. As you might have noticed, one of the behaviours that has been changing dramatically in the past few years is the way we communicate and interact with each other, mainly thanks to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and many other social media platforms.
The 30 Days Challenge was simple: “Have No Access to Social Networks For 30 Days”. Well, let me start by saying that this Challenge was everything but “simple”! As I work in Digital Marketing and have always been an early adopter, it was a tough month!
On the very first day, Lisbon gifted me with a beautiful sunny day and an amazing cosmopolitan sunset, absolutely perfect to be photographed and shared with the world. Did I need to share it? No. Did I want to share it? Yes, there’s always the will to do what you cannot— it’s human nature. After a few days, my day seemed to have gained a few more hours; I was having plenty of time for everything and could even go to sleep at reasonable early hours.
The trick, I discovered, was: disconnect to connect! I was still sharing moments, but I was now doing it with the ones that really matter! There are always two different ways to look at the same thing. On one hand, you can disconnect from social networks and still be connected to those who matter the most to you, but on the other hand, on the fast paced life we live, it is impossible to keep all (and not only the most important) your connections healthy, discarding digital interactions. And here, it is exactly where Social Networks shine! You can still care deeply about someone and do not have the chance to weekly have a in-person meeting. We just have to be committed with ourselves by having an “update calendar”. The challenge is to keep relationships meaningful and deeper than a “like or a comment”.
Mid-way through, everything was running perfectly, I was being more productive, doing sports almost every day, meeting friends in person and watching some great TED and TNW Talks. I was increasing my fluid intelligence by seeking novelty, challenging myself, thinking creatively and doing the things the hard way. Keeping this routine for a few days was great but something was missing, the network, the 21st century world!
“What’s new?”
What is going on out there? What are the breaking news for tech and the digital world? You see, my Facebook feed is much more than updates from my friends and family, it is my primary news source! Without it I had to surf the entire web looking for “What’s new?”, instead of going to just one handy place where I could have everything I cared about. It might not sound much, but for someone that has a one hour of daily commuting and enjoys being in touch with the “world”, it is an exhausting exercise to be proactively searching for the next big thing.
Finding an app without a news feed is like finding cookies without chocolate in the supermarket.
As expected, “I was Hooked” as Nir’s book suggests! A company had shaped my habits, my way of communicating with the world and how the world communicates with me. I also come to realise another interesting and revealing thing: a good portion of the widely used and successful apps in the ecosystem have embraced the community aspect as core of their experience. Just think in Zomato or Endomondo. Finding an app without a news feed is like finding cookies without chocolate in the supermarket.
As usual, the latest days were the easiest ones. As humans we all have habits and once again, I did get used to not go to social networks. I managed to, flawlessly; go through this 30 Days Challenge until the last day of the month. Many have raised the point that going to Whatsapp or Messenger was cheating, but I had disconnected from social networks not from people. You may also ask “Why a month?” and there is no rocket science behind the answer to that question. It is just easier to do the countdown and it is enough time for you to go from “I need it” to “Look, I know how to live without it!”.
Social Networks are designed to make our lives easier; you just have to learn how to make it work for you!
I won’t be leaving social networks any time soon, either Facebook or what’s yet to come. Most things in life are able to bring the best and the worst from people, so I am working to bring the best out of Social Networks even more often! As I said, the trick is to balance usage. Social Networks are designed to make our lives easier; you just have to learn how to make it work for you! I discovered how to do it so I will remain active for as long as I am able to take something out of it.
Would you be able to disconnect? What are your thoughts on this?
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