As a part of Gen Z, I am on my phone a lot; it just comes with the territory. There is always something new to see, something to do, and so much to be caught up on. Although it’s nice to know everything, it can also be the loneliest thing to know too much.
So, what do I mean by that? How in the world can knowing a lot make you so lonely? Despite the way we have grown up, it is not normal (or healthy – for that matter) to constantly know what everyone is up to. It’s also not normal to constantly send meaningless pictures with no conversation to others. It’s simply a waste of time – even if it’s not what you want to hear.
A few months ago, I had to be honest with myself. I was on my phone a lot, and I knew it needed to stop. That being said, I went in to my settings to check my screen time and was shocked to realize that Snapchat was my most used social media. After finding out this information, I thought about what I do on Snapchat. I know others may disagree with me or use Snapchat for other reasons, but I realized that I wasn’t checking the news, having positive communication, or even feeling better about myself. Instead, I was wasting time sending meaningless pictures back and forth to people I barely knew. That was the cold hard truth.
Just like Snapchat, I think other social media platforms can be unhealthy. Although, in my opinion, Snapchat is described as this ‘social’ app that is some people’s main form of communication, despite hardly saying words. The first reason I deleted the app was because I viewed these meaningless pictures as a waste of time. I wasn’t having conversations, and I figured the people in my life who actually wanted to talk to me (or that I wanted to talk to) already had my number. Additionally, Snapchat has little to no professional use. I use my Instagram to promote clubs/organizations I’m in, but I rarely used Snapchat for this reason.
The second reason I deleted the app was because I knew I should start seeking out meaningful relationships. Snapchat is low effort which means low effort men who try to pursue women thrive on Snapchat, at least in my experience. A man who actually wants your number to text, call, and/or FaceTime likely wants to pursue something real. A guy on Snapchat who is fine with sending you pictures of his forehead and occasionally saying “we should link” likely has no interest in pursuing you. Along with men on Snapchat, it was a waste of my time to send forehead/wall pictures to people I only talked to a few times a year.
The third reason I deleted Snapchat was because I was sick of knowing everyone’s locations. It proved itself to be toxic. Even if I told myself not to look at something, I knew I’d end up looking anyway. It would only make me stressed out if I knew someone I didn’t want to see was somewhere. Additionally, it would only give me FOMO if a certain group was doing something and didn’t invite me, no matter if it was intentional or unintentional. I viewed this as childish and a waste of time. Plus, there’s a sense of peace and freedom with being a little out of the know.
The fourth reason I deleted this app was because it’s so easy to post embarrassing things. Snapchat is such an informal social media, therefore people can get themselves into trouble. Whether you accidentally post something on your public story that’s meant for your private story, or you are under the influence and go on the ‘accessible’ social media app – AKA Snapchat. To me, I’d rather just have a group chat with my friends and send things as I please instead of feeling the constant need to post.
The fifth and final reason I deleted Snapchat was because I now have one less social media. Snapchat, out of all the social media I used, was definitely the most toxic at a point in my life. Although, this may be different for you. Instagram may be your equivalent to my Snapchat, or Twitter may be your equivalent to my Snapchat. I encourage you to be honest with yourself and find one social media app that is toxic and takes up too much of your time. Once you find it, delete it! :)