Everyone loves social media, especially the Millennial generation. That’s a given. But what happens when you take the social media away from a social media dependent, stressed-out college student? Here I am, to tell you about my week without social media.
I willingly decided that I would give up social media for the first week in November. I was feeling down on myself and felt like social media was a factor in my feelings of loneliness. I’ve “given up” social media before; however, those times were always in the context of going on a trip where I wouldn’t have access to social media or the internet or even solid service, for that matter. Those times were different because I was surrounded by other people who were also just as disconnected as myself.
This time, I would still be immersed in society, where everyone around me still allowed themselves to obsessively check their social media accounts.
But I was determined, and on November 1st I swore I wouldn’t go on any social media–which for me included Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Snapchat, Instagram, and Netflix–until November 8th. But because I still needed to be a functioning member of society, I allowed myself to go on Facebook for five minutes a day to catch myself up with the clubs and organizations I was a part of. I failed to remove myself 100 percent from the digital world, which brings me to a variety of realizations I discovered along the way.
Realization #1
We rely so much on social media. More than just a social outlet, we conduct business via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the like. We write stories and share them on other web platforms and we follow accounts that we aspire to work for. Every organization and club I’m a part of uses Facebook to quickly update other members of the group or to post sign-up sheets, among various other things.
If I hadn’t checked Facebook for 5 minutes in the morning, I wouldn’t have known that one of my groups was tabling all that week. I wouldn’t have known where to go for an event that was happening over the weekend. And, perhaps the most important thing, I wouldn’t have had access to important governing documents (the only place I know they’re posted is on Facebook). This all goes to show that social media is not just a platform to talk with friends and share cute pictures–it is so much more than that.
Realization #2
Most people who avidly use social media do so to de-stress. Perhaps this seems counter-intuitive. Often, I thought social media brought on stress since it can become a competition between friends–who can get the most likes?–or an unhealthy platform for comparing yourself to others.
But in my week free of social media, I realized that I often use it for just the opposite. Due to my suddenly increased amount of free time, I found myself doing homework much more than I would have otherwise. It was great that I was being an even more productive student than I already am, but I was getting seriously overwhelmed with all I had to do. Since I swore I wouldn’t use social media, I couldn’t take a 10-minute break to aimlessly scroll through my Twitter feed. I was stuck in this world of responsibility which caused me to feel mentally trapped in a state of constant productivity.
I think, without realizing it, most of us who frequently use social media do so as a means of escape.
Realization #3
I’m not so much dependent on social media as I am dependent on technology. During my breaks, in between classes or before bed, instead of perusing my social media accounts I aimlessly checked the weather or logged into my email to see if I had recieved anything exciting (9 times out of 10 I didn’t). I downloaded a new brain game from the app store to help me pass the time.
The point is I still used my phone even though I wasn’t allowing myself to use social media. I still spent my breaks more or less the same way–with my phone glued to my hand. Instead of catching up with the world I was fiddling with apps that really held no significance to me.
I had thought that by restricting my social media use, I wouldn’t rely on my phone as much. Obviously, I was wrong. Perhaps our generation isn’t so obsessed with social media as we are with technology.
My week without social media came and (finally!) ended. I was happy to be back in the world of social media after a long week, but my break served to recharge my mind. I felt more rested, productive, and happier than I had been in a while–all because I chose to disconnect for awhile. Now, I seem to rely less on social media than before. I don’t obsessively check for updates every time I get a free second. I’m centered in the here and now, just the way I like it.