This year, I have decided to turn off notifications from social media apps on my phone (well starting this week). I belatedly added it to my 2024 Vision Board, which means it must happen.Â
Now don’t get me wrong, I love social media just as much as the next girl. I’m literally in two classes studying social media right now, but I’ve started to notice how I love it just a little too much. I’ll spend precious sunlit hours having “horizontal time” which is code for laying on my couch watching TikTok with TV playing in the background. Because clearly if one screen doesn’t make me productive, two screens will definitely fix that.Â
It’s precisely because of this isolation and productivity problem that I’ve made the conscious decision to cut back on social media notifications. I can’t cut the apps out entirely (it’s literally my job and my degree) but I am trying to limit myself to social media use with intention. To me that means less aimless scrolling when I have a few minutes with nothing to do. Not watching TikTok while I’m eating dinner or scrolling through Instagram when I’m waiting in line at the grocery store.Â
By turning my notifications off, I catch myself impulsively checking my phone before realizing – duh – there won’t be anything there. It’s humbling how many times I’ve caught myself checking my phone purely out of habit.Â
So starting this week, I have made the conscious decision to try and break this habit.Â
The reasoning also goes beyond increasing my capacity for getting work done. I’ve noticed how my phone has become a lifeline throughout social interactions and classes. Many of my professors make us put our phones in our bags or else they’ll kick us out of class, which I try to adhere to, but then my laptop gets my text notifications and I end up texting through class anyway. It’s a horrifically slippery slope.Â
It’s become glaringly obvious how many times I check my phone during dinner with friends or how I’ll be on a call with my mom and still scrolling through social media – as if I’m not already using my phone for its intended purpose! It’s humbling how much we’ve normalized having your nose in your phone every minute of every day. We’re slowly making it impossible to have a true face-to-face conversation.
Social media has become the death of my social interaction. Why make uncomfortable small talk when I can swipe on TikTok for hours instead? The tradeoff shouldn’t be such a no-brainer. Time to rewire my brain.Â
This year, I’m determined to put mindless scrolling on social media on the backburner.