Click. Like. Scroll. These three words consume our lives. When I found out the average 20-year-old spends about eight hours a day on electronic devices such as laptops and cellphones, I thought it was well - crazy. That’s how much I sleep. Can you believe it?
A few months ago I found myself getting too caught up in all of this madness. Let me ask you, does this sound familiar: spending hours a day endlessly scrolling between Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and repeat. When this cycle began to impact my life negatively, I knew I couldn’t keep up with it.
Whether it was the models on Instagram, or the pictures posted by friends on Facebook, I began comparing myself to them. This was bad - really bad. I couldn’t live in a world where I’m always comparing myself to others. All it did was fill my head with negative thoughts. I decided, it was time to unplug.
Let the social-less weekend begin, or so I thought.
Being the shy person I am, I didn’t have the comfort of checking up on the virtual world while I sat in class Friday morning waiting for lecture to start. But you know what the funny thing is? People engage in real conversation when they’re not digital zombies. Sure, it was hard at first. I had to resist the urge to click on the colorful icons that stared me in the face every time I checked my phone, but this was one of the best things I’ve done — I swear I’m not lying.
To tell you the truth, I really didn’t miss social media at all; it was quite refreshing. I discovered it is possible to be productive in a world where Netflix exists. I was able to do my homework in a reasonable time, meet friends on time and actually pay attention to movies and TV shows all because I gave up one of the most meaningless aspects of my life.
It’s amazing how much I learned in a short three days. I need these digital detoxes more often. The most important lesson I learned: Social media distorts our body image like crazy. I discovered my friends don’t care about my body image, so why should I make such a big deal out of it? I’m bringing out the cheese, but it doesn’t matter if I’m thick or thin; my true friends are going to support me no matter what. After the detox, I unfollowed those "negative" accounts. You know the kind, like that "Friends" account, which always posted ads of stick-thin models and never actually "Friends" memes.
I challenge you, take a break. Have your own digital detox for a weekend. It might sound terrible at first, but trust me, you won’t regret it.
