The sun is shining, the birds are chirping…and your phone is buzzing? After the disastrous winter we survived this past semester, it’s time for us to get outside, sit in the grass, and try to take a break from technology. Here are ten reasons why this summer you should turn off your phone, deactivate your Facebook, and delete your Twitter. It’s not necessary to do these all at once, and it’s not necessary to do them all summer. But you may be surprised what even 24 hours without texting can do for you.
1. It’s sunny. Enjoy it.
We just spent a winter semester inside on Netflix, Facebook, Pinterest, and any other website that could keep us distracted from the fact that we would have to leave our homes to go to class. Now that the snow mountains are finally gone, the sun has come out and it is ready to play. Soak up some rays, ride your bike, and take advantage of the gorgeous weather. After all, we do go to school in Michigan where you never know when it is going to rain or snow next!
2. Spend time with more people.
The less technology that is occupying your life, the more time you will have to make new friends and spend time with old ones. We may say we are with people constantly, but instead of being with people while texting someone else, enjoy the company of whomever you are with. Get to know people on a more personal level. You never know if your future husband is sitting next to you on the bus. You don’t want to be too busy snap-chatting to never find out.
3. Educate yourself.
Read a book. Read two books. Watch a documentary. The less time you spend on social media or your cell phone, the more time you will have to learn something you care about. Sometimes we feel that we learn in classes in school more because we have to and not necessarily because we want to. This summer, disconnecting can enhance your knowledge of something you truly want to learn.
4. Exercise.
Warm weather plus less time with technology equals more time to get fit, get in shape, and get healthy. Going for a bike ride, going on a run, taking a dance class or doing yoga in the Diag are all great ways to exercise and have fun at the same time.
5. For a confidence boost.
Constantly scrolling through endless pictures of your best friend studying abroad in Italy, your boyfriend and his family on a trip in Spain, and your sorority sisters partying in Ann Arbor may make you feel like you aren’t getting out enough, or that your summer isn’t as adventurous as it should be. However, it is important to remember that most people only post their best selves on social media. Not many people are going to post those boring summer days of them on the Internet for 8 hours. Disconnecting may help you gain a sense of your own life, instead of sifting through everyone else’s.
6. To sleep better.
Being on a cell phone or computer can stimulate your brain, which can make it much harder to fall asleep at night. Disconnecting will not only help you to be less stimulated from the technology itself, but you may not lay awake as often thinking about the picture your ex took with his new girlfriend.
7. To take up a new hobby.
Spending less time on social media will open up time for you to try something new. Take a baking class, try ballroom dancing, and take a computer programming class. Pick something you have always wanted to do and do it!
8. In the words of Drake: YOLO.
This one is simple. You only live once. Put your phone down and have a real conversation. Fall in love with a person instead of a piece of metal. Be best friends with a human instead of Instagram. Make lunch plans with a friend and ask her how her trip to Barcelona was instead of just stalking her Facebook photos. Live in the moment and be present.
9. There will be less to worry about.
Disconnecting from texting and social media will decrease the amount of things you think about, and thus decrease what you worry about. Being college students is anxiety-provoking enough. It will be good for us to take a break from stressing about checking Instagram and Twitter and Facebook and E-mail and Pinterest and every other website out there.
10. Our parents survived, we can too.
Our parents and grandparents and great grandparents and every other generation for the last 200,000 years were perfectly fine without a phone in their hand 24 hours a day. So we can do it too. It will be hard, but it’s possible.
Now, even after reading about all of these benefits from reducing technology, if you still feel a little skeptical, just try turning your phone on airplane mode. This way, you will still have access to your camera to capture those perfect summer moments, but your phone won’t be vibrating with notifications once a minute. Additionally, you will still have your phone in case of an emergency. Technology is fun and extremely useful, but sitting under a tree reading a book for an afternoon without any interruptions may be just what you need to relax and refresh. Good luck!