I’m not sure if I am the only one who thinks this, I hope I’m not, but I have recently been noticing the frightening influence that social media has on my self-acceptance. I know this is nothing new, the expectation of a thin and model-like appearance has been affecting young women for years. However, I’m talking more about the day-to-day, snap of your finger, phone applications that never seem to sleep. You are constantly able to post anything you want on your Snapchat, Instagram, and even Facebook story (okay but honestly, who has ever made a Facebook story) and this capability creates the obligation to be constantly doing something at all hours of the day. This ability to look at what your Snapchat friends are doing at every second of their lives can allow us to immediately prescribe a negative opinion of ourselves for not being at a party, on a dinner date, or out bowling. Don’t get me wrong, these are all amazing and fun things that everyone should do, but sometimes you need a little time for yourself to step away from the phone.
Self-love and acceptance are so important, and can definitely be put on the back burner when we tap through our Snap-story feed. Detoxing from our phones may sound daunting at first since we rely on them so much for texting about who’s going to Recess this weekend, calling our mom to ask her what dish soap to use, or scrolling through our weekly horoscope. But it may be a good idea if we want to stop comparing ourselves to people and actually pay attention to real life! We rely on our phones almost too much and it’s kind of sad to see how our attention spans are reacting to the constant need to check our phone. Think about when you’re waiting for class to start. What are you doing? Sitting tight for the professor to start? Or scrolling through Facebook and Instagram? I’m guessing it’s probably the latter. And by no means am I judging anyone for doing this, I do the exact same thing; it’s almost as if I literally cannot sit for five minutes without because stimulated by something.
I read a statistic that said humans have an average attention span of eight seconds while goldfish have an average attention span of nine seconds. So basically, a tiny freshwater fish that breathes water could pay more attention in College Algebra than you can, no offense… So what are we going to do to fix this massive problem? Well, I think it is all about willpower and the interest in self-improvement. Obviously I, a 20-year-old college kid can’t fix this epidemic, but I think it isn’t about telling people to change. I think it is more about taking the initiative to detach and unplug, distancing yourself from technology, which may be unconsciously affecting you in a negative way. So the next time you’re waiting for class to start, talk to that stranger next to you or write in a journal. You can do it!