Deleting my social media accounts may have been the best and worst idea I have followed through on. Social media has become a huge aspect in people’s lives and many of those people depend on outlets like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to get their news, get updates on friends or peers and even get inspiration on day-to-day routines.

Like many others, I fell a victim to these social media outlets; reaching for my phone every morning just to check where Julie was today in the world or what internship Jack got this summer. I started comparing my life to others and needed a way to escape from that negative mindset of mine which led to a social media detox.

I am 19 years old and I can say I am surviving without social media. The first couple days were hard because it was such a sudden change going from using social media every day multiple times a day to not having it at all.

Even though I think most of social media is basically an environment in which people constantly seek attention and validation through one-upping people’s comments and obsessing over how many likes and retweets you get, I’m guilty of it too.

After a while, I didn’t find it hard to quit and now the only forms of communication I check are emails and imessages. Since quitting, I’m more productive and spend my time mostly without my phone at all and less concerned with what other people think about me.

Now, the only person I have to regularly compare myself with is me. I’m in such a more positive mindset without social media than I ever was before, mostly because I’m not constantly thinking about what other people are doing or posting. It has led me to really see who my friends truly are and who I was only concerned with simply because they were there on social media. I think it’s most important for everyone to get out of a negative situation that will only hurt their mental health and do what’s best for them.