Mend March Recap… and how I’m feeling about my decision to leave social media
I had meant to write something halfway through #mendmarch, but was too busy with mending and posting about mending that I couldn’t find the time. Then I was going to write something right after, while I still had some momentum to share my thoughts on the subject. Now here we are, almost halfway through April and I finally have something to say.
I think I had a little bit of mental whiplash after deciding in February that I would step away from all social media, and then walking that back in order to participate in mendmarch. Essentially, I took a couple weeks off from all Meta apps, then dove into posting EVERY SINGLE DAY. It took me a minute to smooth out my thoughts after all that.
One concern I had going into the challenge this year was that it was going to make me change my mind about ditching social media. I was worried that seeing other people’s creative mending and fiber art would lure me back, that the dopamine hit from every like, every comment on my own posts would be too addicting to resist. But instead, I feel as justified as ever in my decision to step back. Perhaps because I did take a little time away from posting this winter, or perhaps because of the algorithm (or both), I felt like I wasn’t seeing as much variety in my feed and I wasn’t getting as much engagement as I used to. The monthlong challenge was still worthwhile in that I got a lot of mending done. Mendmarch is always good for that. It is, if nothing else, a great reminder that mending can be easy and quick and rewarding; you can get a lot more done than you think if you just get started on it. And as I do nearly every year, I began thinking about how much more I could get done if I wasn’t also posting and scrolling too.
Now, I don’t want this to seem like it’s all about productivity or feeling accomplished. It’s more about realizing what brings satisfaction vs what consumes my energy; how I feel after patching a hole in my jeans vs how I feel after watching reels for a half hour straight without realizing it. There’s just no comparison. And I think a lot of us have lost track of what those satisfying activities are for us. Obviously I’m not always going to mend something every single day. Luckily for me I have more projects that I want to do than I ever seem to have time for. I feel silly for having spent so many hours of my life not doing them in order to zone out on my phone. But I’m trying to recognize that I’m not always going to feel motivated or have the energy to do these things and that’s when it’s tempting to open social media. I am still breaking the habit. I still feel tempted by the mindlessness of it, the funny memes, the pictures of beauty and of people I love. But I am also (re)learning that a spare moment can be filled by a few stitches (I don’t have to finish it today!), that a good audio book to listen to while I work is extra motivation, and that I have more than enough to hold my attention without adding in this addictive, vituperative, brain-rotting social media element. The more time I spend being present with my hobbies, my people and my surroundings, the more I wonder how I had the bandwidth for anything more. It is enough. The life I have, right here in front of me is enough.
And with that, here are some images of my favorite mends from the month:
