A few weeks ago, I decided to unplug- literally and metaphorically. I made the courageous decision to delete all forms of social media for a whole week, and by “all” I mean all. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, VSCO, GroupMe... with the exception of Snapchat, so that my friends wouldn’t kill me for ruining our 400+ day streaks. I deleted them all.
Day 1 was rough. I found myself constantly unlocking my phone and searching for social media as an excuse to procrastinate from my responsibilities. I needed a way to ‘waste’ awkward time, and I would normally resort to aimlessly scrolling through Instagram or Twitter. For this week, however, I had to find a new way to fill gaps of time.
The next few days consisted of me adjusting to this new “lifestyle”, or rather, lack thereof. I felt empty like I was missing a huge space in my life. However, I couldn’t be more wrong. Soon I would learn that I was gaining something rather than losing it, but that lesson didn’t come until later on. For the second and third day, I continued twiddling my thumbs and partaking in other more meaningful pastimes like drawing and reading.
Day 4 was when my friends started to notice that I was inactive on social media. To my surprise, I received a concerning “are you alive?” text from one of my best friends. I explained that I deleted all social media for a week, and she thought I was crazy.
I was continuously receiving “like my Instagram pic!” texts from other friends, and regretfully replied somewhere along the lines of “I will next week! Sorry!”
After the few first days of having major league withdrawals, I began to realize the true impact of deleting social media. During those times where I would usually sit on my phone and scroll pointlessly through Instagram or Twitter, I actually looked up at the world around and began to notice things that I had not seen before. When I was bored, I talked to my family and had real person to person conversations. I discovered new music, taught myself songs on the piano, and appreciated real interactions with people- face to face.
The last few days of my social media detox were the most rewarding by far. By then, I had truly realized that I made a great decision by deleting these apps, as I had removed pointless distractions from my life. I was more productive, less anxious, more social, and happier overall. When I hit day 7, I almost didn’t want to re-download the apps that once consumed my life. There’s so much more to life than a status update or a Snapchat story. “Likes” on Instagram do not determine popularity or how many people like you in real life. When we separate ourselves from screens, we come to realize that interactions should be so much more than bubbles on a screen.
Now, I try to limit my time on social media as much as possible.
