Is It Time to Turn Off the Tech? 10 Signs You Need a Vacation From Social Media

It’s difficult to imagine a world without status updates, real-time chats and check-ins, but that’s exactly the world we happily lived in before social media came along and dominated our lives. Even if you love it and can’t imagine living without it, too much of a good thing is exactly that: too much. So before the season of holidaying is over, it’s time to consider whether or not you need to take a vacation from social media!

10 Signs You Need a Vacation From Social Media

#1: Resentment — Getting a little tired of the daily social media grind? Updating your status on Facebook, checking in on your fan page, pinning something interesting over on Pinterest and let’s not forget that we need to tweet something brilliant over on Twitter…it gets a little tiring, doesn’t it? If it starts feeling like a chore, it’s time to check out (instead of checking in).

#2: Online Gratification — Are you addicted to social media? If it starts feeling like it didn’t happen unless you have Instagrammed it, shared it with your Facebook friends and blogged about it, it’s a sure sign that you need to start spending a bit more time living in the real world and leaving the online one behind.

#3: First and Last — Is checking your social media streams the first and last things you do each and EVERY day? That’s a sign you need to (cough) wean yourself of the social habit and start and end your day a little differently (you know, how they used to in the olden days by reading the paper, drinking a cup of coffee and TALKING to people?).

#4: Annoyance — Do the countless page invitations, auto direct messages and obnoxious blog comments from spammers annoy to the point of ruining your day? Remember, all you need to do to get their annoying blather out of your space is turn off the power. Click — and they are gone.

#5: Revolve Around Tech — Have you adapted how you approach life to accommodate your tech? Do you have all the latest and greatest protective gear so you can take it with you everywhere you go? Time to turn off the tech and turn on life!

#6: Family Feud — Are your husband and kids tired of you giggling at the iPad perched on your lap during what should be family time? Take it as a hint that they don’t love social media as much as you do and you need to honor them by turning off the tech and giving them your full attention.

#7: Tech Grip — Does the thought of leaving your phone at home fill you with dread? If even a 5 minute trip to the store has you breaking out in a cold sweat wondering if there’s an @ reply that you haven’t responded to, it’s time to get a grip and let go of the tech. Everyone will survive online just fine without you.

#8: Social Media Vortex — Are you finding yourself getting sucked into the social media vortex of exchanging witticisms over funny cat videos? The best way to get back to your daily focus routine is to quit social media cold turkey and reestablish those tech boundaries during your focus time.

#9: Obsessing — Do you find yourself obsessing over the photo/blog/status update you posted, worrying that no one will comment or respond? Try posting nothing for a while and enjoy the response you get from interacting with live people (rarely do you say something in a conversation to which no one responds unless it’s truly a faux pas).

#10: Overwhelm — Are you just plain tired and needing a break from all this screen time? Being constantly connected takes energy and every now and then, you need to renew yours by tuning out (and that’s okay).

Now go outside and play!