Everyone has their routine- wake up, eat breakfast, and go to class, lunch with friends, homework, dinner break, and yes, and more homework. Sometimes getting into a monotonous routine can be exhausting and quite frankly, rather repetitive.
My routine consisted of: wake up to my blasting phone alarm, scroll on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter until it was time to get ready for class, walk to class as I am scrolling social media, class ends, walk to lunch scrolling on social media to see what I’ve missed, stand in line for my meal while still on social media, do homework and take breaks by spending time on social media. See the common theme? Social media was quickly becoming my security blanket, something that I could not seem to live without. It was reaching the point where I would wake up to see what I missed on social media and as I would fall asleep, I would still be scrolling.
In the year of 2017, it was reported that 81% of Americans has some form of social media. Many users are on these social media platforms to stay connected to friends and family, catch up on news and daily events, see the common trends, to meet others, and to promote businesses or blogs.
While all of these uses for social media are good, it is important to evaluate your intention behind posting a certain picture or story. It is also important to step back and see if you are spending more time on social media compared to making those in person connections and spending time with yourself.
After evaluating my reasons behind using social media and how often I was on it, I decided to begin my social media hiatus. My last post on my social media pages read: “go wild just for a little while”. This quote to me really encapsulated my desire to find my most authentic self, not through social media, but through spending quality time with the Lord and myself.
I am currently on day 7 of my social media hiatus and I am so happy. I am able to carry deeper conversations with friends, and complete my homework assignments quicker. I also sleep better and I am taking notice of the small yet beautiful things in life. Just the other day as I was walking to class, I was able to take notice of these beautiful yellow flowers. For all I could have known, they could have been there for the 3 years I have been attending GCU. But due to the fact that I was consumed with social media, I was ignoring the world around me.
I was so surprised to see how much time I had in the day without scrolling on social media. I noticed that without social media, I had a lot of alone time with myself and decided to fill the time doing things to show appreciation towards my mind, body, and soul. I went to the gym (which I rarely do), I went to events at my local church, I spent time reading my devotional, journaling, and praying. I was so surprised how easier it became to speak with God. As I would go about my day, I noticed I was inviting Him into the every day occurrences within my life.
So what are the benefits of taking a social media hiatus?
- You will have more time to do things you enjoy like spending time with friends, sleeping, and doing things you have always wanted to try but felt like you had no time for!
- You will see an improvement in your mood.
- It allows you to live in the present moment and take notice of how amazing and beautiful the world around you is.
- You will see an improvement in how you perceive yourself. By not staring at your phone screen all the time and comparing yourself to others, you will have more time to focus on your positive attributes. Also, you will be able to dedicate time to doing things to show love towards yourself.
- When it comes to school and other tasks in your life, you will be more productive.
- You will find yourself feeling more grateful for the simple yet beautiful things in life.
- You will find yourself being more creative.
I highly encourage everyone to take a social media hiatus, especially all of the college women out there. Today, there is so much pressure upon women to look, dress, and act in a particular way and social media adds to this negative noise.
As I continue my social media hiatus, I am also coming to realize that while social media allows me to maintain good connections, it also affects how I perceive myself as a college woman in today’s world. Through partaking in my own social media detox, I have learned to appreciate how God uniquely crafted me and I am so excited to continue this journey.
Here are some tips if you want to take your own social media detox:
- Log out of all social media apps and if you feel the need, delete them for a while.
- Have a friend keep you accountable.
- Encourage a friend or a family member to take this break alongside you! Sometimes doing something new with someone you love by your side makes the task a little bit easier!
- Take up journaling to keep track of your thoughts instead of posting about them on social media.
- Fill up your time with other activities to do (hiking, exercise classes, a hobby)
- Do not sleep with your phone. Keep your phone on your desk away from your bed that way you are not on it all night.
So let me ask you, do you feel like you need a break from social media? Do you often turn to your phone in awkward social situations or when you are bored? Do you feel like it is distracting you from other things that bring you joy in life? If any of the answers to these questions are yes, maybe taking a break from social media will be right for you! Remember the benefits of taking a break as well as my tips and know that you should do this for your own personal growth. So log off your social media now to begin your journey!