Yes this time I am really dropping #SocialMedia and concentrating on close friends and family, the podcast will be my only outward communication on how I am feeling regarding different life events and it will provide an opportunity for others to comment back, ask questions or even request music through the unique Voice Comment link.

I am continuing to include music of my choice and the best way to get the full experience is to link your Spotify Premium account to anchor.fm. You can of course just listen to my ramblings on any of the other 10 podcast platforms that I am on. I have spent a lot of time 'toying' with this idea, as I have become more and more disillusioned with the content and the commercialism surrounding the whole area of Facebook and Instagram in particular. 

I recently looked to start a page linked to the podcast and wanted it to be just a community page, suddenly I was bombarded with encouragement to 'pay to boost my page/post reach' and I'm classed as a business!!  I have an increasing number of friends who have headed for a detox space and many of my children's generation in their late 20's early 30's are extremely watchful of their 'screen time'.  They’ll deactivate an account (or at least delete an app) to avoid the negative feelings that too much social content can foster. I have taken time off of social before but always got lured back with the thought of how it could help promote the podcast, but after falling into one too many late-night vortexes or stressing about a lack of likes, I can certainly understand the appeal. 

And according to a new studies my generation isn’t the only one feeling the need to cleanse its social palette. Many of today's teens are also opting out largely because of the effect social media has on their mental health. Thirty-five percent of social media users cited that there was too much negativity floating around, while seventeen percent said it made them feel bad about themselves. Social media is often linked to anxiety, depression & low self-esteem and eighteen percent said they felt too much pressure from sites to get attention. My work involves a lot of work with young people experiencing difficulties in these very areas so I feel that it would be hypocritical of me to not join in. I too have been monitoring my own engagements and how meaningful they are, what responses they get & the number of engagements and I must admit to being shocked at how easily we all succumb to the trap of a celebrity-driven marketplace that is engineered to sap users’ time and attention at the cost of their well-being. As someone once said: “It feels like we’re all addicted to a drug that doesn’t get us high anymore, so I wanted to make space for something that really does.”  That space will become reserved for family and close friends, the 'REAL PEOPLE' who should matter to everyone. 

I'm changing things subtly like removing my Snapchat emoji code from my profile pick and sticking to WhatsApp as its linked to contacts I choose from family & work. This may be invaded by some of them posting something linked to a Facebook or Twitter link but if I can't access that because I no longer have an account, so be it. I no longer have a Twitter link in my program notes and any previous notes that have the link, it is no longer viable. 

So there it is as I include my first Christmas songs in my Podcast, my only means of promotion from here will be on the anchor.fm site through my own choice of favorites and also Podcasts I link to through comments. 

Yes, it's December and the real #ChristmasCountdown has begun and its a time of year when I get quite nostalgic but that is for another episode. On the back of this one maybe you to can have a look at your own social media time and assess if you can improve how you use it with a view to an improved experience.