For the month of November, my best friend Jazzmin and I decided to give up social media. We both love a good snapchat photo, but we thought a break would be nice! We decided to do this together so that we could hold each other accountable. We set a couple of ground rules and on November 1st, we deleted every social media app on our phones. Over the course of the month we did little “check-ins” just to see how the other one was doing. Then, we sat down and answered questions about our experience:
Did you find it hard to stay off social media?
J: “I think that a lot of times, people do not notice how much social media has become a part of their lives. Social media became more of a routine or habit to scroll on a timeline just to kill time and avoid responsibilities. In the beginning, it was a struggle and similar to how it feels when trying to get rid of old habits to form new good habits.”
A: “In the very beginning, I found it kind of hard because I spend a lot of time on social media when I’m bored. It is a part of my daily routine, but without I paid more attention to myself and what I needed rather than other people’s lives.”
Did you find yourself to be more productive?
J: “Personally, I do not think I was more or less productive. I did the same amount of homework. If I want to procrastinate, then I will find a way to procrastinate. It may not have been social media, but there was Netflix, texting friends, talking on the phone, etc.”
A: “I know for a fact I was more productive and focused without the distraction of social media. While I agree that if I wanted to procrastinate I could, but without the convenience of social media I found myself paying attention to the things around me. You know how sometimes people put on a movie, but they are just on the phone the whole time, I found myself actually paying attention to whatever it was that I was watching.”Photo courtesy of author
Would you do it again?
J: “I would definitely do it again. I think that I have begun to rely on social media to waste time, pay attention to others lives and care or pay attention to how people view my life for gratification and contentment.”
A: “Of course I would do this again. I thought I would be missing out on a lot of stuff, but honestly I didn’t miss anything. I found that I don’t use social media to keep up with my friends, but instead I was keeping tabs on people I didn’t even know when I had better things to do with my time.”
Did you ever miss social media or did this exercise help you realize how much time you spend on social media?
J: “I did not necessarily ‘miss’ social media. I just felt like social media is how many people in our generation communicate and build relationships. I think that things that occur on social media is the topic of many conversations and a lot of events are posted on social media, which makes it difficult to sustain relationships and keep up with events.”
A: “I must admit, there were small times when all I wanted to be doing is scrolling down my Twitter timeline, but then I found other things to do. Social media does help to connect people, but you can just as easily pick up a phone and call someone.”
Any last thoughts?
J & A: “Of course, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @itsgeli and @flyin_above!”
We both had small slip ups, but overall we stayed off of social media for the month of November. It was fun for the both of us and I definitely think we would try it again. Sometimes social media can cause you to play the dangerous game of comparison so it’s best to take a break and live in the moment.