I'm now taking a Sabbatical leave from Social media..

Taking a month off could be nothing, but it could change everything, A Social Media Sabbatical.

                        Fig: My Official Facebook account.

Social media has been good to me since my Facebook profile first went live in 2014. From that one social account, a dozen others have spawned across the web, along with complimentary news feeds and mobile apps. Hell, one of the reasons I started a blog blogging was because I wanted something to share online. And with every account, my reliance on the web itself dwindle, and I began to privilege online social interactions over offline ones. Buying Samsung Galaxy every year didn’t help. Today, my day is essential managed by a handful of apps. Even my last few articles have been about social. My social life is sandboxed in a half-dozen round-rects on 5-inch screen home screen.

And now I’m leaving.

Or at least, leaving as best I can. Social media has become so engrained in daily life both professionally and personally that simply walking away isn’t an option. So instead, this February I will be guided by a new mantra:

Be social at work, be present at home.

With that in mind, here are the apps and services I will absolutely not be personally using until April 1st, 2024:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Snapchat

Vine

LinkedIn

Periscope

Meerkat

I would ask, however, that you grant me a bit of leeway, as some of these are required for my professional life. That being said, I’ve switched some of the more popular ones: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and LinkedIn to only those pro accounts, and will steadfastly refuse to browse any feeds, tap any links, or respond to any posts that aren’t work-related.

Uncharted Territory

For years I’ve defined myself in part by who I was online. We all do, to a certain extent. Who wouldn’t want to be the person they see staring back from a pristine profile picture?

I’m willing to trade that in for some perspective. And when April rolls around and the air is cool, I’ll fire up those dormant accounts again. I’ll approach them with renewed vigour and purpose, with the clarity and control of someone who knows what’s important in the physical world, and what he wants to get out of the digital one. At least, that’s the goal.

Time will tell.

Regards:

Hon.Kenneth K. Bii 

#Kibenditaiochei #Mteule