I spent one month off Snapchat and embarrassingly it was harder than I thought it’d be. I never considered myself a social media addict but I will let you decide. I always loved Snapchat because I felt it allowed me to keep in touch with my friends across the country. I constantly felt updated on my friends’ lives without putting any effort into a IRL (in real life) conversation. The first few days I fulfilled my Snapchat cravings with other social media platforms. I even opened Twitter which hadn’t made an appearance in my life since I graduated high school. A few more days passed and I realized my Instagram story was poppin’ a little more than historically.
I refuse to let social media take the greatness out of the ordinary day to day
Another bout of shame due to my compelling need to lurk through the “seen” list of my posts. My complete understanding of the influence of Snapchat on my personal life came when a friend said, “Oh I had no idea you were there {with John Smith} because you weren’t in any stories”. She was not updated that I was at a particular bar the night before because I neglected to drop an aesthetically pleasing and geotagged picture. Something that I would have definitely done a month ago. The height of my Snapchat detox journey came when traveling while studying abroad. I thought, “I am in a cool, new city. How can I not share this? The world must know, right?”.
Houston, we have a problem. I realized my desire to share my travels with hundreds of people who I do not have a real connection with was stronger than wanting to live in the moment with the people I was traveling with. That’s not cool for me. I’m going to lay off the Snapchat for a bit longer but not condemning all social media for good. I love keeping up with people who inspire me but I must remind myself that it’s curated. It’s not the full picture. I refuse to let social media take the greatness out of the ordinary day to day. Don’t compare your hustle to their highlight reel” – Sophia Amoruso.