Social Media has become a very big part of our lives. We live in a time where we share so much of our lives with people who we may have not even met in real life. With this overwhelming access to so many people around you, it’s important for you to ground yourself and be aware of the people who genuinely care about you. So this year I decided to hide my birthday on Facebook and I learned some very valuable lessons.
1. People who care about you will remember your birthday without a notification
Before, when I had my birthday on display, I would be bombarded with hundreds of messages and emails notifying me that people had posted on my wall. This year, my phone was relatively silent compared to last year. This may seem depressing, but it really wasn’t. People who genuinely cared about me called and we got to talk for hours. People I hadn’t spoken to in so long remembered and sent me messages. It felt really good to know that I crossed someone’s mind without them having have to read it on Facebook to remember. I was able to strengthen connections with my friends who were currently in my life, which made my birthday all the more special.
2. You end up spending your birthday actually doing things you like
When your Facebook notification is off, you wind up having a lot less activity on your social media. Because of this you spend less time stuck on your phone and computer and manage to go out and do things you actually like. When I had my birthday notification on, I would spend hours replying back and I would miss out on things I wanted to do. This year it was refreshing to be able to have the day to myself to do things I actually wanted to do. I wasn’t wasting my time on technology, replying to posts from people who didn’t really know me.
3. You avoid transient happiness
Birthday wishes on Facebook spark happiness that lasts a few seconds. This year when I had turned my birthday notification off, I found that I had less of these transient moments of happiness and more stable moments. I was able to surround myself with friends and avoid the superficiality that comes with social media interactions. My day consisted of more fulfilling interactions with people that led to personal satisfaction that doesn’t come with social media.
4. You strengthen your connection with life
When you immerse yourself in technology, you tend to lose sight of the important things in life. When I had my birthday notification up, I was lost in this vortex of social media that clouded my personal relationships and my life in general. I placed so much importance on social media and it felt like my life revolved around it. When I removed the notification, I was able to detach myself from the toxicity of social media and connect with my life on a deeper level. It was the best birthday present I could give myself.
5. You find it easy to place value on yourself
When you disconnect yourself from social media, you can look at yourself in a new light. Once I made the decision to remove the birthday notification, I was able to be happier with myself. Before when the notification was up, I would base my value on the amount of friends that wished me and how many social media notifications I got. When I removed it, I was able to place value on myself based on things that really matter. It helped me with my confidence and made me a happier person.
