If you’re reading this, you’re probably well aware that social media is one of the biggest parts of life. If you’re not instagraming, tweeting, or snapchatting your every move, you’re watching someone else’s.
Social media is what connects us to the rest of the world, and it’s all right at your fingertips. This is a good thing, but it can also be pretty bad too. Why? We’re addicted, and we mindlessly scroll through our social feeds… sometimes not even intentionally.
Apparently it takes 30 days to break a habit, so I decided to delete ALL of my social media apps for a month and here’s what happened.
Week One
I can honestly say that my heart broke every time I habitually unlocked my phone to open up Snapchat/Twitter/Instagram to find that it’s not there anymore and I’ve seriously debated giving in and downloading social media back at least 1,000 times within the first few days.
I actually felt myself yearning just to know what people were doing, even if they weren’t my friends. That’s probably not healthy, right?
Week Two:
As I began my week, I started finding other things to do to replace my constant need to check up on my peers. I read 3 books, listened to podcasts, and began to be present in my own life.
I was doing things not because I thought it would look cool on my snapchat story, but because I actually wanted to do them.
I’ve realized by this point that social media is merely just an enticing distraction from our lives and not being concerned about everyone else gives you time to be concerned about yourself, your grades, and what makes YOU happy.
Week Three:
The habit of checking my accounts has basically disappeared. The last three weeks have probably been the least stressful and most productive ones of my college experience thus far.
My obsessive itch to know the trivial things everyone is doing or talking about has completely dissolved. I now religiously follow news reports and focus my attention towards more important things in life.
The dynamic of all of my friendships has also improved. I’ve spent more time paying attention to them and being in the moment and less time with my attention on my phone.
Week Four:
I can live without social media.
I’m happier and confident without it.
I don’t think you’ll understand what you’re missing out on when your attention is captivated by your phone 100% of the time. If you can get over the initial detox, it’s something I would suggest everyone to do.
Just something to think about.