Wednesday 19 August 2015

Social September - disconnect to reconnect

There is a movement afoot. I've noticed it starting quietly. A few friends have taken themselves off Facebook, a few have left their twitter account untouched for months and slowly but surely, people are trying to manage their time online a little better.

Personally, I've been wasting a lot of time online. I've had to limit my engagement to set times, and leave my phone in another room once my partner gets home. I'm trying hard not to look at it when the kids are around. As I discussed on Her Collective last week, I want to engage with them, at their leisure, as I feel I've been missing those moments with my head in my phone.

Social September is a movement, like Dry July and Movember, where you disconnect from your digital life in order to reconnect with each other, and more importantly, yourself.  I think when things get difficult in our lives, it's easier to play around on facebook than deal with the real issues, as I've previously discussed.

There are two ways to participate - either challenge yourself to disconnect, or organise an event to reconnect face to face (start making time to see those friends you've let slip through the cracks) or both. Money raised goes to Reach, the youth organisation, founded by the late Jim Stynes OAM and Paul Currie.

Personally, I'll be disappearing for a little bit (digital diet) and work on catching up with some long lost friends.

Why not try it and see if it makes a difference?

Linking with 

My Random Musings

14 comments:

  1. Yes I've definitely seen more of this happening. I've been putting my phone away when I'm with the kids more. I've also banned them from iPads altogether. It's made a huge difference to the mood of the house.

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  2. I would but I'll be recovering from surgery and house bound . I can't beat the isolation . I am going to try to keep my evening digital free though .

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    1. I think there's a lot of positives in online connection to. I just think some of us have let it impact on our real connections (mea culpa). Good luck for the surgery. Will be thinking of you.

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  3. I often disconnect to reconnect by scheduling social media free days and weekends. They were hard in the beginning but I seem to crave them now.

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  4. This sounds like something I should try! I'm glad you gave a bit of notice so I can plan how to lessen my time online in September.

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  5. Gosh a whole month?? That's a big ask for a blogger! But also quite necessary... I'll be checking out that link, thanks :).
    #TeamMM

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  6. I need to stop checking my phone when the kids are around... Cause then I shout at them to get off heir phones while my head is down

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  7. Instagram seems to be my social media weakness. It does pass the time when I am sitting next to Summers bed shushing her at night, because she is 'scared' :) I spend too much time wasting on Facebook on the laptop. Something I will conscience in curbing this September x

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  8. I'm definitely not online as much as I used to. And while it felt odd at first, I'm getting used to it. I think I can do a week of digital detox. Off to read your article!

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  9. I have been very offline the last few months. I am so over the online world. Just this week when i saw a stupid person i know videoing themselves driving through flood waters i nearly lost my shite!
    The only reason I keep facey is because iblike playing wordscraper!
    Enjoy your month off!!

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  10. Turning off is so important. Social September sounds wonderful. I will make a mindful effort which won't be hard as I am kicking off the month with a holiday with family and friends.

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  11. This is the first I've heard of this. It's a good idea! Real life should come first! Thanks for linking up.

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  12. I use my phone way too much. I think I need to start carrying a book on me, so that when I have a downtime moment, it's easier to go to something paper, not digital, for filling my time.

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  13. Love it. Yes, such a healthy thing to do. I like to ignore social media for a period of time. It makes me feel empowered - crazy eh. I don't like being a slave to anything anf FB tends to be consuming it you let it.

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