During my time on Spring Break Immersion, I was encouraged to delete my social media apps and spend time off of my phone. I am not scared to admit that my screen time is exactly what you would expect of a 20-year-old college student, so the idea of not staying up to date with everything on my phone brought me some discomfort. I was not required to delete my social media apps, but I figured a break from Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok would be good for me. So, I said goodbye to my 1,000+ day Snapchat streaks (yes, I am aware those are insane), and I entered my first ever unplugged week.
The first two days of my trip I left my phone at the center we were staying at, and it was honestly such a weird feeling. In the car on our way to service sites where I would have normally sat on my phone, I was fully present. There were moments when I went to look at my Apple Watch and phone just out of pure instinct. Additionally, both nights when I did check my text messages I found myself automatically moving my fingers to where I used to keep my social media apps on my phone.
For the second half of the trip, I did bring my phone with me so that I could take photos, but I still kept social media off of my phone. This was my first time thinking of my phone as a tool and not just a form of entertainment throughout more monotonous moments in my day.
I would be lying if I said I did not miss my social media at all, but I will say this break was much-needed and beneficial to my mental health. Without having streaks, Snapchat has become a lot less addicting. I also feel more conscious of how little the endless scrolling on Instagram and TikTok adds to my life. The world did not end because I didn’t catch my friend’s newest post or because I did not have TikTok to watch before bed.
A social media detox is something that I would consider doing again. Outside the context of Spring Break Immersion, I think that choosing one app to delete for just a week could be more manageable and really beneficial. In the future, I plan on taking a break from any of these apps if they become too all-consuming. They are designed to be highly addictive, and as long as we are cognizant of how they are affecting our mental health, our phones and social media can be a tool instead of entertainment.