In a world where everyone is always connected and half your Facebook friends are people you wouldn't consider being friends with in real life, I made the decision to take the Facebook app off my phone.
I did this for two reasons. The first was because my 16GB iPhone has no storage and Facebook surprisingly eats up a ton of storage. The second reason, however, was more of a deal closer; my boyfriend also deleted the app from his phone for storage purposes, and he didn't really miss Facebook all that much. So, being fed up with the "storage almost full" prompt Apple loves to send out, I skeptically deleted Facebook off of my phone.
Now, you may be thinking, it really isn't a huge deal, its just an app. I, myself, am a social media queen, and not because I have a ton of followers; I love being connected. But Facebook alone was consuming about 43% of my screen time on an average week. Instagram and Snapchat combined took up anywhere from 35% to 40% on an average day. This leaves the leftover 17% to 22% of phone activity to calls and text messages. I never really thought much of this, and frankly no one really ever said anything to me. When I deleted the app, I thought not being active on Facebook would be life changing, and I would probably crack, breakdown and reinstall the application within a few hours, letting my social media addiction win.
Once the app was gone, it was gone. Along with Facebook, I deleted Messenger and Twitter. Messenger got deleted because I rarely use the app on my phone and instead mostly use it on my computer to text in class (but don't tell my parents that). I stopped using Twitter on the daily once I graduated high school and basically only used it in college to check the score of the university’s club hockey games (yes, Rutgers has a hockey team and yes, they play other schools).
I quit Facebook cold turkey for about two weeks and I was loving it. I didn't feel an urge to go on Facebook and really found no use in opening up my laptop and scrolling through Facebook. Personally, I have always preferred the mobile interface to the PC one because it’s easier to watch the countless Tasty videos instead of doing schoolwork (once again, don’t tell my parents). As a result, using Facebook on the computer didn't even cross my mind. My last article went up, and I didn't even realize it because I didn't have notifications pouring in like normal. Deleting the app hasn't had any negative effects on my life. Quite frankly, I suffer a lot less from FOMO now compared to when I used Facebook for hours a day. My time spent in the bathroom has gotten significantly shorter, and my time spent with my family has increased. The one thing I can admit I slightly miss is all the amazing Tasty videos (but they gave me way too many cravings so I guess it’s a good thing). My eyes hurt less, and I have found that I have worn my glasses less from not stressing my weak optic nerve because I’m not squinting to look at my phone screen in bed until two in the morning.
By no means has this act changed my life. I am not diving into nature, finding who I really should be or any of that stuff that people claim when they give up or cut back on social media. I just feel healthier and less dependent on the internet which is nice considering it seems that no one can escape the it anymore. I do check Facebook from time to time still, but I keep it to about three times a week compared to three times or more times within a half hour (which is extremely sad to think about). So, I encourage you as the reader to consider deleting the app off of your phone for even a day and really take notice of how much more time you have in a day. I promise — it isn’t that bad!
