Last week I, a self proclaimed social media addict, quit social media cold turkey for five whole days. I did this because my interest in social media and how it affects the way we communicate is growing with every passing day, mostly due to the fact that I have been focusing on that exact topic for quite a few papers and projects this semester. Going into the cleanse I was incredibly nervous and definitely considered tapping out more than a dozen times, but I wanted to see this challenge through.
MONDAY
Monday morning I woke up and did what I normally don’t do when I first wake up… I deleted all of my social media apps. Yep, that’s right, I deleted all of my social media apps. Everything went. Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat… even LinkedIn. My morning was so much more productive because I didn’t end up wasting time laying in bed scrolling through everything.
I also noticed that I got a lot more done than usual – mostly because I had no other options. I didn’t have the choice to mindlessly scroll through Facebook and laugh at all of the election memes, instead I was able to get straight to work which consequently lead to me getting a few things done before the day they were due.
Going to bed was an issue in and of itself, though. I had no idea how to go to sleep without scrolling through Instagram. Although, I ended up having no problem falling asleep simply because I was exhausted… I think I actually got more sleep than usual simply because I was going right to bed rather than hanging out for an hour and making it more difficult for myself to fall asleep. Bonus points for me because I actually got rid of my before bed screen time which also benefits sleep.
TUESDAY
By Tuesday I was starting to adjust to my social media-less life a little bit. I got up a little later (more sleep is a blessing) and was more attentive in my classes. Social media was no longer a part of my life and I was going to make it worth my while. There was no sense in mourning the loss of an app, or eight, when I still had all of my friends to keep me company despite the fact that Twitter could not.
Speaking of friends, now that my phone was basically of no use to me, I already wasn’t on it as much (my battery thanked me for this.) Because I wasn’t checking in on everyone that I ever knew and their mothers every few minutes, I was able to focus more on the people that truly matter to me… the ones that are right there with me laughing at the same jokes and living in the moment. Conversations seemed more genuine because I wasn’t being absorbed in the lives of past friends and instead I was fully immersing myself in the lives of the people that I feel I wouldn’t be able to survive what’s left of my college career without.
Before the afternoon hit I had already found a loophole in my cleanse, though. I realized that Pinterest was not actually considered to be a social network… this meant that I could pin all day. This was actually great because I needed a Halloween costume and where else would I turn other than to Pinterest. I also found jalapeno poppers that I fell in love with simply because of the name. Halloweeno Jalapeno Poppers… how cute is that? Like, come on, who wouldn’t want that in their life?
I would also like to take this time to point out that I went through withdrawal and laughed at the jalapeno poppers for a lot longer and a lot harder than I should have.
WEDNESDAY
Why do I even charge my phone anymore? Oh yeah, because I am now texting more than I ever have. A special thanks goes out to anyone and everyone that obliged to my texting mania and remained calm. You know who you are.
Wednesday evening I had to sit through a meeting filled to the brim with all of my friends. All of my friends that insisted on sending funny Snapchats that I wouldn’t be able to open or respond to for another two days. I was really starting to miss social media, but at the same time I didn’t care all that much because I was actually starting to live in the moment and appreciate life.
I think the biggest moment for me throughout this week was when I went out Wednesday night and kept trying to check my phone when I felt the conversation was dying down or I had nothing to contribute. One of the people I was with said something so simple yet so prominent that it really stuck with me. As I stood in a crowded room and checked my email (???) one of them asks what I’m even doing and the other goes, “You could just talk to me, ya know?” And talk we did. We covered everything from classes to boy issues up until it was time to go home and then we talked some more. My phone made a home for itself in a place that it never goes… my bag.
THURSDAY
ONE MORE DAY TO GO! I would love to say that I was getting more sleep, but I really wasn’t. I was starting to feel some major FOMO and was no longer sure how to function. I felt so out of the loop when people would start asking if I saw something on Twitter or Facebook that I would stare them down and hold back the tears.
I think the biggest thing I missed was mindlessly scrolling. It was relaxing and gave me a nice break from life. One of my friends introduced me to an app called Feedly that allowed me scroll through things while also keeping myself current on things that interested me such as social media and food (I’m a simple person.)
FRIDAY
My cleanse ended at five on Friday evening and oh my gosh it could not have come fast enough. I felt like I was at East High waiting for the start of summer. And yes, I did break out into song and dance once I re-downloaded all of my beloved apps. It was especially exciting when I found out that Apple remembered all of my login information so I didn’t have to deal with the struggle of going through and changing all of my passwords.
THE AFTERMATH
Now that I’m back on social media, I have resorted to my old ways only now I’m a little more conscientious of how I behave while scrolling in the presence of my friends. I’m now a little more willing to put the phone down and be in the moment, but I still won’t miss the chance to send out a tweet that I find funny or to add something ridiculous to my snap story (speaking of which, I lost all of my streaks… it was a sad day when I realized) only now I realize that adding these moments to my own memory bank is more important than showing the world that yes, I do have friends and yes, I do leave my bed.
I think I learned a little bit more about myself from this challenge than I would have had I not participated. Mostly I learned that in order for this to be effective it was going to need to last a lot longer than a typical work week; however, that what I put into this cleanse was more than I could really afford to. I live for social media and hope to make a career out of it and that is why I felt that I needed to complete this cleanse not only in order to see both ends of the spectrum, but also to improve myself and my lifestyle. Would I do it again? No, but I can definitely see myself giving it another shot in a much smaller dosage come finals week. Until then I’m just going to keep scrolling.