Over the coming weeks I will be removing my personal FB account, and transitioning my Instagram account solely for business purposes.
The reasons behind this are many. As a young person who has literally grown up with social media, I find it addictive, and distracting.
My social life has been connected to social media since I was 13 years old, and I would say my brain has been wired in all the ways which the creators of this platform have engineered. (Yes, they are created to specifically diffuse our ability to focus and enhance addictive behaviors, for more about this check out this video.)
In the video, the speaker shares how one of the psychological side effects behind regular use is heightened levels of resting anxiety. When our brains are wired to receive small hits of dopamine throughout the day, we become restless and in a sympathetic nervous system mode consistently.
I like many, many people, experience this. I pretend that I don't but I do.
One of the other psychological effects of consistent time spent on social media is lowered self-esteem related to the comparison of self vs. others. Thankfully, I don't experience this very much, but I AM as addicted to mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds when my brain wont shut off as the next person.
Ultimately, I see us evolving with technology, and the current trends in social media lean towards even greater fusions of reality and virtual reality. As the information age expands, our awareness, sovereignty, and emotional intelligence has to evolve with it, so this is simply my way of trying to work things out for myself.
The internet as a whole is rewiring our brains, and I think it is false thinking to assume that social media is the only culprit in decreasing attention span, etc. But for me, removing or reducing social media is the first logical step in changing how I relate to the internet and ultimately use it for it's amazing, information sharing potential.
Anyhow, I'll still be sharing my writings (my blog/website is where I share my more focused and heart felt thoughts) and info about upcoming classes, events, and other exciting offerings on my professional FB page Anja Sofia Churchill. The goal is to still be reachable, but for me to focus more on what matters, both personally, creatively and in service!
If you need to get in touch for any reason, send me an email, a text, or call me! (Yay! Real voices!)
Love, Love and Love!
Anja