This past Sunday I decided I needed to do a social media cleanse. I've seen a lot of posts on social media lately about relationships and "relationship goals" and it got me feeling that I needed to have a relationship to be happy because that's what I've been seeing everywhere I looked. Then I thought about it and I realized that I was falling into what most millennials are: a social media addiction. I was not okay with this and I was not okay with how much social media was influencing my thoughts and lifestyle. So I decided to change it. On August 22, 2016, at 1:44 a.m., I started a social media cleanse and I decided to document how it goes.
Day 1 - Monday, August 22, 2016: After one day, I'm not really all that affected. By that, I mean that I haven't really felt rejuvenated but I also haven't felt the need to check my phone as much. It's kind of a nice feeling to not be OCD about checking my phone every 30 seconds. I haven't had much change in my mood. I've felt a little anxious at first that someone may be trying to get a hold of me on other media rather than texting but then I assured myself that anyone who really needs me can text or call me.
Day 2 - August 23, 2016: I feel a lot more relaxed today. I don’t feel as attached to my phone or like I need to check it as much. I am happy to say so far I am sticking to this cleanse so hopefully I stay with it. I have felt less involved in meaningless drama and less engulfed in the drama of others. My town tends to be a nosy one so we all want to know each other business but after 48 hours of no social media, I just don’t care about their meaningless business anymore and I feel like that is good for me.
Day 3 - August 23, 2016: I have definitely had a few moments where I checked my phone for notifications only to find I have none because I turned off all non-call or text related notifications, so that was weird but as the day went on, I didn’t check as much. It still takes getting used to because for so long I have checked my phone as a habit when I needed to fill a moment of time. I also have been hanging with my friends and making more plans which has helped me get closer with my friends and has forced me to have a real conversation, not a 10 second snap conversation.
Day 4 - August 23, 2016: Unfortunately, today I caved and broke my no social media pact. I got through the entire day without using my phone and I heard that something major had happened with one of my friends so I checked my phone to see what happened and thus ended my streak.
I may not have made it for the five days I hoped for, but I made it a lot longer than most people can ever say. I have been so consumed by social media this summer so I was happy to not be consumed by it for four days and as a result of this cleanse, I don’t feel the need to constantly check my phone and I don’t get anxious when I don’t answer a text or notification right away. So all in all, I didn’t reach the end goal but I definitely improved myself and urge all of you to try it.
