Why Quitting Facebook Boosted My Productivity and Stats on Medium

I, like many other millennials had embraced social media platform Facebook as a form of communication that was just as important as telephone or email. I wasted countless hours of my day scrolling through mutual acquaintances lies, cut and pasted perfectly filtered photos that resonated with me only as to point out my insecurities.

While I know for many Facebook is a wonderful tool that resonates as a necessity, I made the decision 3 months ago to disband from the Facebook tribe … and am loving myself all the more for it. While I may decide to access it again at some distant point in the future, for now I feel I will never use Facebook again.

Here’s Why:

1. I have decided to not put media in my body that I cannot learn from. All shows, books, movies, and internet I consume needs to be beneficial to me in some way in my quest for knowledge and to learn. Otherwise, I don’t consume it. In ditching Facebook I have also cut out negative reality tv and other social platforms that are not beneficial.
2. I completely avoid petty drama. If I don’t see it, don’t read it, then my brain can’t become encroached by others negative oppressive thoughts and actions.
3. In the same vein, my personal emotions/thoughts/feelings are not subjected to negativity, “hate mail” via private message, and the lot of folks who may post something that is derogatory.
4. I save SO MUCH TIME! My days are filled with writing and productivity instead of staring at my phone so much I begin to go blind. Because of this, my stats on Medium have grown extensively because I am concentrating on my craft instead of someone else’s food selfie.
5. I have to have real conversations with people. Instead of staring at my phone in coffee shops, while waiting in line, or on public transit, I have opportunities to connect. In just the three months I have operated in this way I have made more meaningful connections and conversations then in the past year combined!
6. My privacy is my own. No one knows what I’m up to, who I’m with, or how my life is going. Therefore when I see people I know I can have epic conversations. Win win.

For these reasons I have jumped off the Facebook wagon, and am so far thrilled with the consequences of my actions. I encourage you to give it a try. No seriously, delete the app and honestly try.

But what about networking?

I know many blogs, businesses, and writers use Facebook to promote their brand and get their name out there, which I totally respect. You have to do what’s good for you boo! The problem with Facebook is that it has been flooded with such a high degree of ads, pyramid scheme foolery, and scams that marketing trends are showing a downturn in participation as a whole by the general audience.

However, if you are a Youtuber or a person of interest with a distinct following, Facebook may allow you to engage like a traditional business may not. Lately, the people I follow such as Loey Lane and Learning to be Fearless seem to be promoting interaction with their fans through other mediums such as Snap Chat and Instagram. In any case, as I said above you have to make the individual decision for yourself as to what works and what doesn’t.

For me, quitting Facebook gave me a higher level of productivity, a boost of self confidence, and inadvertently led to my stats rising here on Medium in a pretty substantial way. I highly encourage you to give yourself a break and see if you can’t boost your own productivity and stats here on Medium through these methods.

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Georgia Caroline is a wife, fur mom, writer, and believer. She is all about giving in to the impossible. Check out her work on her blog Georgia Caroline and as a contributing writer for Faith Hacks and Rx3, both on Medium. Email her at mrsgeorgiacaroline@gmail.com

• image from http://wallpapersdsc.net/other/facebook-2884.html.