It's 10 a.m. Sunday morning, and you have already hit the snooze button five times. Sunday is your day to be productive and actually accomplish things. But first, you have to check your Instagram to see how many likes that picture you posted last night got. Then, of course you have to go back to like and comment on everyone else's. But, wait, don't forget to check Facebook -- what if someone tagged you in a picture or you might have a few event reminders? Then you proceed to scroll through the newsfeed to see what your friend's from high school are up to, and maybe even read a few online articles. Also, you need to make sure your Snapchat story from last night's shenanigans is somewhat appropriate and not 100 seconds long. And you have to watch everyone else's stories too, you know, just in case you make an appearance in them or to see the all the fun you missed out on.
The next thing you know, it's almost noon and you're still in bed looking at your phone. You finally muster the strength and courage to get out of bed and conquer the day. As you walk to the pantry to get a pop tart, you find that you are still looking at your phone. You decide to put it down and get out your planner and consider all the things you have to do today.
Great. Not only do you have a paper due tomorrow and three exams next week that you need to study for, but today you also have two meetings, need to go the the grocery, and you forgot that you volunteered to bake a cake and three dozen cookies for a bake sale this evening. Oh, and you also forgot about that lab report due at nine o'clock tonight too. Forget about getting in shape and trying to hit the gym today. It's not gonna happen, you have zero time for it. Thanks to your social media addiction, you have put off all you needed to do, and have half of a day to accomplish 20 important tasks.
You sit down and attempt to study for that midterm tomorrow. You cannot focus to save your life so you reach for your phone and check Twitter. Fifteen minutes later, you realize you haven't even opened your book and then decide it's time for you to start your paper. You don't even know what to write about at this point, so you search the Web to find a topic. There's a link to a video and you click on it. The next thing you know you've been on YouTube for forty-five minutes watching Justin Beiber music videos. You've already wasted so much time on social media and you still have a whole list of things to do. You're not the best at prioritizing, are you?
According to Mashable, a leading source for news, information and resources for the connected generation, checking a tweet or responding to a personal message on Facebook will take you 23 minutes to get back on track. Furthermore, a social media interruption occurs every 10.5 minutes on average, and people waste 41 percent of that time on Facebook.The average student spends three hours checking social media sites, and only spends two hours studying (Erica Dhawan). These are not good statistics, people.
In today’s world, social media has become a huge part of our lives. So much so, that we have become extremely dependent on it. Talking on the phone used to be the main form of communication, and now we have the ease of sending a text, direct messaging or using FaceTime. We need to set limits for ourselves and prioritize. The world is not going to come to an end if you spend less time on social media. Just like it is not healthy to eat too much chocolate, or drink too much alcohol, it is also not healthy to spend too much time on your social media accounts. As with everything, social media is to be used in moderation.
For instance, have you been having trouble falling asleep lately? Well, don't get on your phone before you go to bed. Studies have shown that being exposed to the blue-and-white light given off by phones, laptops, and other electronic gadgets at night prevents our brains from releasing melatonin, a hormone that tells our bodies it's nighttime (Business Insider). Also, if you are studying, turn off your phone or hide it so you are not tempted to use it. If it is not in sight or not on, the less likely it will be able to distract you.
Don't be a victim to this social media takeover. Believe it or not, there was a time not too long ago when we weren't so dependent on our iPhones or Androids. Rather than looking down at your phone to avoid conversing with people, try to be a real, social human being and actually talk to them. Make friends -- real ones -- not like your Instagram or Twitter followers.
Put down the phone and be productive.
