Let’s be clear: I love my social media and the thought of spending an entire month without internet connection made me feel– how should I put this? Unenthused.
The idea wasn’t something that I purposely put myself through as some sort of personal sociological experiment. I was actually travelling out of the country to visit family, and was hesitant to get the hefty roaming data plan which resulted in me without any electronic contact with the outside world.
The first week was the most difficult, especially since I usually find myself checking social media when I’m bored. We were basically one unit– my phone was indeed, my other half. Without that option, I had to find other ways to occupy my time. I took up reading the local newspaper, talking to my grandmother, playing childhood games with my younger cousins, and spending a lot of time exploring myself through introspection.
The second and third weeks were immensely easier. Having no social media the first week enabled me to establish a schedule that adapted to my lack of dependence on electronic communication. Living without my screens became a piece of cake and I was able to do things I wouldn’t have like learn basic needlepoint skills, magic tricks from my grandfather– I even ran around the city like a tourist.
The fourth week was my turning point. It was during this time that I realized that I could continue this lifestyle when my trip ended. I could stop using social media altogether and not feel lacking. If letters were good enough for folks in the 1800s, why couldn’t it work now?
Sadly, this was also the time that I realized how horribly I missed my closest friends who happened to live on the other side of the world. I remembered that feeling of relief and convenience rapidly delivered through the touch of a button. With that, I realized that I could not feasibly rely on the time consuming nature of letter writing (it’s called snail mail for a reason). Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed taking a break from social media. Today there are very few instances when I have the luxury of not knowing things, as the entire business of social media seems to be knowing what everyone is doing as they do it. That constant stream of information is overwhelming, especially on a regular basis. I found that taking a step back and focusing on myself and everything around me was a cathartic experience.
I won’t deny that I’m returning to my habit of sending 20 snaps/hour to my best friends, and I definitely won’t be deleting my Instagram account. If anything, living without social media has shown me to value our ability to be connected to people through the internet, or IRL (you didn’t think i forgot my acronyms did you? smh).
Admittedly, without my social media accounts I longed for the ability to have long conversations with friends halfway across the country. But I will also admit that without my screens, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and did a lot of activities that I otherwise wouldn’t have tried at all if I kept my eyes buried in my phone.
As hard as it is to imagine life without my Facebook, twitter, and Instagram, life without them is definitely habitable. However, life with social media is just a little bit better. If there’s anything I learned from my month sans social media, it’s that balancing online communication with the power of communicating in each other’s physical presence is something unique to our generation. The mix of traditional interface with the ability to share our lives across oceans is what will empower our generation, and define a new way of living and communicating.