Tweet, tweet, buh bye!

I just deleted my personal Twitter and Instagram accounts. It was a rather spontaneous decision, but I'm so happy I did it.

Before I did, however, I had to think it through. (After all, one must be logical.) Was this an abrupt decision from a maniacal moment, or the result of much subconscious pondering? I concluded the latter. To affirm my sanity--as one must do every so often--I sought the insight of others; "permission" so to speak. I stumbled across this post from a blog on minimalism. It's an excellent articulation of my feelings, but let's make it personal:

Why I deleted my personal Twitter and Instagram accounts:

• I have become too busy living life behind my phone. Yummy ice cream? Instagram it. Cat did something funny? Gotta tweet. Instead of living in the moment I was too preoccupied with sharing it, which leads me to my next point:

• Nobody cares. Constantly I found myself bypassing a multitude of tweets simply because I really don't give a hoot about what shampoo a friend is in love with or how much fun they're having on vacation. If it was important we'd have a personal conversation about it. When I addressed my feelings of apathy it hit me: nobody cares about my microblogging either. (I did not shed a tear over this thought.)

• Selfies. One of my biggest nuisances was the incessant selfies that bombarded my newsfeed; social media brought narcissism to a whole new level. My frustration with selfies caused me to evaluate myself and whether I was being self absorbed and boasting with my tweets and instagrams. I think I was.

• It's depressing. I'm no psychologist but I know the woes of social media have contributed to many miserable feelings. From experience I've felt my life was boring and have been jealous over how awesome someone else's looks. But that's just it: looks. I recently finished reading an insightful psychology book geared towards people in their twenties. In it was a chapter dedicated to the facade that Facebook and other social media sites has allowed users to create.

• "iPhoneography". I stumbled upon an e-card that read, "Bitch please, a cell phone and Instagram does not make you a photographer." This had me in stitches! I love following professionals who post incredible photos of people, landscapes, objects, etc. but these photos could not have been captured with a phone camera and Instagram filter. There's so much more to photography than "point and shoot" that Instagram has muddled.

That being said there are many benefits of social media. It allows us to connect and discover new ideas, people, and places. It allows us to stay in touch with friends. It also allows us to market ourselves or a product freely and efficiently. For these three reasons I am keeping my Facebook and Pinterest. Also, it is why I still maintain a few Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Whaaa? Allow me to explain: This post has been about why I deleted my personal Twitter and Instagram accounts; however, I do own a business and know that these platforms are excellent for promotion. The difference is with these accounts I do not post vacuous updates, I upload photos and tidbits about what's new with the business and what I am up to. Furthermore, I don't feel frustrated or depressed when working with these accounts, I feel inspired. The purpose is professional rather personal. My professional accounts also do not occupy nearly as much time or energy as my personal did.

Finally, I'm now the Social Media Manager/Photographer for the Franconia Notch Chamber of Commerce. (Ironic, eh?) I know there's a time and a place for social media, but I believe it has gotten out of hand. Thus I have deleted my personal accounts to focus on living my life rather than documenting it. So far I find it rather refreshing.