Let me ask you a very simple and non-threatening question, how many times have you looked at your phone in the past hour?

Now maybe some of you can give a definite answer but much more of us don't know. Odds are we haven't put our phones down yet. For myself, part of my morning routine is checking out what's new on Instagram and Facebook in the last 6 hours since I fell asleep. And one app that for some reason dominated my entire day, was Snapchat.

I have a group of friends who I am so grateful are so understanding of my deleting Snapchat, but there was a fear I had when I first deleted the app. What would I miss out on without these constant updates? I have grown so used to this app being the place where I would hear the juicy drama of people I knew in high school or even the humorous rants given by celebrities on their breakfast experience. But the point of all this is that no matter where I was or what I was doing, if I saw a notification from Snapchat I would instantly jump on it and forget what was going on around me.

Technology is truly a blessing and a curse, and it becomes a curse when what you are looking at or constantly checking and rechecking three minutes later, is dominating your everyday life. When something has a bondage on you, a majority of the time you don't even realize it. You blame your random bad mood or agitation on a lack of sleep or on the weather. While those are attributes that can escalate a bad mood swing, there's something deeper.

For myself, and maybe for you as well, Snapchat is my bondage. I have used this app since it first came out, before those silly and hilarious filters that deform your face and lower your voice. Snapchat has evolved tremendously in the years since it made its debut. With each and every update I became more and more involved with an app.

One day I realized that I needed not only a day break from social media, but I needed to go all in and delete my social media apps. With this decision there immediately came changes in my daily routine and attitude.

The first hour after I deleted these apps I found myself wanting to avoid any possible conversation with the person sitting next to me, and when I opened my phone I instinctively tapped where my Snapchat app used to be. Only to realize my weather app was telling me that the heat wave here in Phoenix is nowhere near ending. This occurred a couple of times throughout the first day. It forced me to look around at my surroundings and to pay attention to not only my studies but also to the person sitting next to me.

There were many moments that occurred over the next couple of days that I would think "Oh my gosh I HAVE to Snapchat this!" only to remember that I had to just live in the moment.

Now, a week later I have to say that deleting Snapchat was one of the best decisions I could make for myself in this current time. Yes, I do miss out on certain conversations my friends share over group on Snapchat, but that just requires me to be intentional and reach out to each of them.

It's a step back in technology I guess, going back to texting and calling each other to catch up. While it may be a step back in technology, it's five steps forward for the world and humanity.

I highly encourage you, dear reader, to consider how often you instinctively open your social media apps. Just imagine all that you might have missed out on in the world that is around you in this moment. Close this article and get out there champ!