Ashes in the Light

Daily writing prompt

How do you use social media?

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If I’m being honest, my relationship with social media has changed over time.

I used to be quite active across different platfoms – Facebook, Linkedin, Tiktok, Instagam, even Snapchat at one point. But over time, I’ve slowly stepped back from most of them, with Instagram being the only one I still return to more often.

I still use it – probably like most people do. I scroll, I watch stories, I send the reel to someone when it reminds me of them. It’s part of my everyday life in a way that feels almost natural now.

But I’ve also become a little more aware of how I use it.

Some days, it feels light. Just catching up, seeing what people are doing, sharing small moments.

Other days, I find myself scrolling without really thinking – just moving from one post to another, not fully present, not really taking anything in.

And I think that’s when I start to pull back a little.

Lately, I’ve been using social media more intentionally. Not as something I constantly reach for, but as something I check in on – instead of getting lost in it.

I still enjoy the small parts of it though.

Sending a random reel that says, “this reminded me of you.” Double tapping on a post just to show a little support. Quietly keeping up with people’s lives, even if we don’t talk often.

In some ways, social media has become another way of staying connected – just in a softer, less direct way.

But at the same time, I’ve realised something I wrote about recently in another post – that being reachable doesn’t mean being available.

Just because we can be online all the time doesn’t mean we should be.

And I think social media plays a big part in that.

It creates this sense that we’re always “there” – always able to reply, react, engage. But over time, I’ve learned to take a step back, to not feel the need to respond to everything immediately, and to give myself space away from the constant flow.

Some moments feel better kept offline.Some thoughts feel more real when they’re written here instead.

So I think I use social media somewhere in between – present, but not too immersed.connected, but still holding on to my own space.

And maybe that’s what I’m learning – that it’s okay to log off,to not be seen all the time,and to choose when I want to be present.