What if we stole our time back from social media?
In its heyday, social media was a great tool to enhance existing connections and to stay up to date with friends and family. Over the years, however, social media has expanded its scope moving away from what it initially set out to accomplish. While we are still able to connect with our communities, we are also constantly inudated with a constant flow of information, news, people’s highlight reels, and ads.
Social media platforms, like Instagram and TikTok, have focused on developing intuitive algorithms that create this false sense of connection. As a result, there is a decrease in actual real-life connections. Its so common to see people scrolling on their phone randomly. And if you were to ask them why, most times its just because it has become a habit and addictive. I am definitely in that boat.
The Return to Hobbies
In rebellion, I have seen many people talk about returning to hobbies to reduce their time on social media time. I am a huge fan of that. I realized there have been so many things I have wanted to do. However, I just get sucked into watching other people do those things on social media.
Instead of remaining victims to the endless loop of social media and information, let’s bring back hobbies.
This week, I explored a few hobbies to explore my creativity.
1. The Craft Club
I came across The Craft Club that develops beginner-friendly kits for latch hooking, half stich, and more. The final pieces look amazing, so I wanted to try it out to see what I could make. I bought three kits and I am currently working through the latch hooking kit. In the beginning, I struggled to figure out how to do the loops. However, after watching the quick video guide I got it down. It becomes repetitive making it a therapeutic activity once you get the hang of it. You can do this while watching tv or listening to music.
2. Reading
When I am not learning this new skill, reading is a great outlet. Reading has always been an escape to dive into someone else’s world or to learn about a new topic. Currently, I am reading “Your Mind on Art by Susan Magnesan”. If you are curious about the arts, this would be a great book to explore. Tapping into different forms of art provide creativity that helps with problem solving and thinking outside the box.
3. Watercolor
Remember, as kids when we used to watercolor at school. I do. This sparked my interest to re-explore the art. I enjoy it because it is a low barrier to entry. All you need are inexpensive paint brushes, paint, and a watercolor notebook. The easiest place to start is drawing flowers and fruits. These Youtube videos are great places to start.
If this a true skill you want to learn I recommend purchasing Everyday Watercolor: Learn to Paint Watercolor in 30 days by Jenna Rainey. It teaches the foundation of watercolor which is critical to mastering the art.
4. Drawing
As you continue to develop your watercolor skills, learning to draw will be important. This will allow you to outline more complex images to paint. Drawing requires a lot of patience to get it down, but the end results seem so worth it. Always remember to have fun and don’t put too much pressure on being perfect.
These hobbies are spectacular creative outlets to explore. They help to decompress after a long work day and allow us to tap into our childlike wonder. Instead of consuming social media all the time, we can embrace creating.
