I'll be the first to admit that I was shamefully addicted to social media. I had a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit, the whole nine. I checked all of them religiously. If I wasn't mindlessly scrolling through Facebook then I was flicking through Instagram. If those were already checked and boring me to tears, I would find a new workout routine (one I'd never use, of course) on Pinterest or I'd find some cute cat videos on Tumblr. With social media the possibilities are endless.
That is why I think Social Media is Overrated.
Social media started to take a downward slope for me in high school. If a picture didn't get enough likes on Facebook or Instagram, I deleted it. If a status didn't get enough likes, I deleted it. If a post I shared didn't get another share, I deleted it. It was almost as though every post was a piece of myself that I was giving out to others for their approval and when I didn't get their approval it was as though I had failed. Social media defined my worth, in my world, whether or not I wanted to admit it. I was too busy worrying about how to have the best angle, the best people in my pictures, the best captions, the most followers, the most likes, the most comments, etc that I stopped worrying about the important parts of life. I stopped worrying about relationships and friendships, I was too focused on trying to make my day as picturesque and lovely as possible so it reflected the "perfect life" that I lived.
In college, I became aware of the vice-like grip that social media had on me. In this new frontier I felt the need to make as many friends as possible, hang out with people I didn't know, and make sure that we took lots of picture for evidence. As much as I wanted my social media presence to be felt and represented, most of my interactions became really lifeless and disconnected. When I started to realize that social media was having a negative impact on my life it put me in a place where I was forced to figure out who I really was without the pressure of pretending to be something I wasn't. For a couple of months I really struggled to come to terms with who I was and I blame it on my need to prove myself to be this "perfect person" on the internet. I spent too long lying to myself and my followers about who I was and now I was forced to figure it out.
Social media is a platform where you can create this person and this personality that reflects whoever you think is the perfect person. This hipster girl, this adventurous guy, this independent woman, etc. Whether or not it is who you really are, you can be that person online. That can be incredibly detrimental to your mental health and mental growth. Once you spend too much time lying, you lose who you are and the path to find that person again is a really hard trek.
I can happily say that I am almost 3 weeks clean from social media (even though Facebook still sucks me in every now and again with a post on my local disc golf page)! I want to challenge you. Chances are you found this article by Facebook. While that's awesome, I want to challenge you to go three (3) days without social media. That means no Facebook, no Instagram, nothing. It'll hurt because trust me, Facebook is a hard one to quit. After a few boring hours, you'll find meaningful ways to spend your time! Coloring, washing your car, watching a movie with your parents, anything that is not pecking away at a little screen. If you can last the three days, you might see that you weren't all that different from my situation. Maybe you depend on it for entertainment, maybe you follow it for gossip, maybe you're just a little too addicting to Facebook creeping people. Whatever the case may be, there is no reason to miss out on life's little pleasures because social media was crowding your vision. As someone who has cut social media out of her life, you won't miss it once it's actually gone. You actually might be able to breathe a sigh of relief and do something fun for a change!
Whether you decide to take my challenge or not, keep in mind that social media can be controlling if you let it be. Just remember to never take life so seriously and have fun!
