In our society, media has become a major part of our everyday lives. The terms “Netflixing,” “hashtag,” and “Snapchatting” have become a part of our vocabulary in recent years. Phones are, in a sense, essential to survive in this world of constant streaming. People want easy and fast. And with this developing world, simple and fast paced have become a social norm.
Being a Communications major, I find media to be a great resource to interact with those around us. Social media gives us the opportunity to contact and keep up with everyone’s day-to-day lives. It is fun, informative, and engaging. However, it is also a great distraction. I have noticed recently, how much time is spent on phones instead of having a humanly conversation. Media tends to consume most of our days and for college students, it could take up over 3 hours of our already busy 24-hour days.
So in an effort to detox and really observe my media use, I decided to fast from media for a week. I got the motivation from a friend whom has been fasting from media for a month now and plans to continue to the end of March. I deleted my Instagram and Facebook accounts from my phone and signed off of them from my laptop. And so began the process.
The first few days were not easy, to say the least. I always had this urge to jump right on my phone when I had a few spare moments or when I was bored. This urge was difficult to contain and at many times, I had the desire to download the apps right back onto my phone and break my fast. Instead of scrolling through Instagram or Facebook on my phone, instead I would scroll through Pinterest or even the weather. Any spare moment, I had to fill with screen time. And I am greatly ashamed of that.
As the days went by, however, my urge lessened and I turned to spark more conversations with my friends or think through ideas in my head or efficiently get homework done without any distractions. It was almost a breath of relief not having to live life so fast paced. I did still miss having social media but not for the reason of being constantly updated but rather for not having the availability to share moments or pictures from my own life. I am a visual person so I take pictures constantly and not having the ability to share them was extremely difficult. However, I found myself with a bit more time on my hands and a little more motivation to interact genuinely with those around me and to get tasks done.
If only that time and motivation lasted. When re-downloading the apps and signing back in after a week, I didn’t find a need to go on my phone. I would easily forget that I had social media back. But within 24 hours of having it back, I fell right back into my old habits. And I’m not proud of it, to say the least.
What I’ve learned from this experience is how consumed we are with a screen. It’s depressing at the fact that we would rather pull out our phone while gathering with friends rather than interacting and laughing and enjoying each other's physical presence. I get it. Social media is fun and engaging. But we’ve let it consume us entirely. I’m ashamed of my media use and I know I need to decrease the amount I use it. In a moment of boredom or spare time, I don’t want to jump on my phone immediately. I don’t want to create this wall that prevents me from interacting with the beautiful company that surrounds me. I would rather be enjoying the moment or someone’s presence with my full attention and effort.
I give credit to my friend whom has fasted for a month now. It takes dedication and determination to slow down in this demanding world. So from his, I plan to fast more often to refresh and change my perspective. And hopefully soon, I will have the willpower to not even pick up my phone. I challenge our generation to do this as well. Put the phone down and look right in front of you. What you see and what you experience could genuinely surprise you and make you more appreciative for what this world has to offer.
