Sometimes we all need a vacation, and when the budget doesn’t allow for that week-long waterpark excursion in Wisconsin Dells, you have to resort to other sorts of TLC. For me, I quit all social media for a week. This is my story.
DUN DUN.
Around 10 p.m. on Sunday night, I deleted (most) social media apps off of my phone. I let Facebook know so that my long-distance relatives, who see my constant posting on social media, would know I hadn’t died or moved to New Zealand to join the hobbits. (I thought about it though, don’t you worry.)
At first it was kind of exhilarating, because I was free from notifications and the FOMO (fear of missing out) that plagued me, especially on the weekends. See, in college, this fun thing happens where you spend a majority of the calendar year down the hall from all of your best friends and then you have to move hundreds of miles away from them when summer comes. It’s this super great way of creating separation anxiety from my roommate who is no longer here to make sure I don’t text that boy who makes me eat ice cream and binge on "Sex & the City," because I’m an independent woman who doesn’t need any man.
Spoiler, there’s Ben & Jerry’s in my freezer and it’s only been three weeks. I’m not proud of it.
However, that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about how sometimes social media can be a great way to keep in touch with your friends, and sometimes it can keep you from enjoying the world that’s right in front of you. I lived through the camera in my phone more often than not, and there are only so many BuzzFeed quizzes I could take before I decided that it really didn’t matter what kind of pizza topping I would be, because I’m not going out to enjoy the pizza. I’m going out to Instagram it.
What did I do in the absence of Twitter and Facebook? I went driving a lot, which is one of my favorite ways to escape. I love rolling the windows down and blaring old music. I read in the bathtub; I did drop my book in, which proved that logistically this was a bad idea. I went to lunch with my grandma and generally did things that I felt like I didn’t have time to do when school and work would get hectic. It was nice to just be for a little bit.
As the week wore on I would accidentally open Facebook on my computer and I would realize that I didn’t miss it as much as I thought. Social media apps enforce a sort of validation from notifications. In the grand scheme of things it has never mattered how many likes a status or picture gets, but it seems kind of important sometimes. When I redownloaded all of the apps, I was excited to see the Snapchats from my close friends, because even though social media can be a pain and kind of unhealthy at times, it’s so important that I get to see the fun parts of their days. My life became a little less complete without the daily Snapchats of my friend’s dog who literally always has their tongue sticking out.
I expected taking a week off of social media to be a lot more impactful than it actually was. I ended up going back a little bit early. Not because I missed it so much, but because it wasn’t giving me the kind of peace I thought it would. It did however teach me that it isn’t as important as I thought it was. I like Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, but I can survive without it pretty easily. I just don’t want to miss out on the important things my friends and family share, especially when it’s summer and they can be so far away.
I think doing this a couple years ago when I was less secure in who I am and my life would have been drastically different. When you’re growing up and trying to figure out who you are, likes and comments can matter more than they do when you’re a little more confident that you’re living your life exactly how you should be. I did spend less time watching puppy videos though.
Social media only has as much power as you give it. It’s great for communicating and sharing things that are important, but it also is a window into all of the places where the grass seems greener. There is always someone prettier or more interesting, but the thing you have to remember is that social media only shows you what a person wants it to. If you let it get ahold of you in that way, you are committing to a life of always waiting around for the better thing. Taking a second to log off taught me that although my life isn’t nearly as glamourous, I wouldn’t want to be in any other green pasture than my own.
It’s beneficial to take breaks in your day where you lose yourself in the present. There are different ways to escape a little, like turning your phone on Airplane mode for a couple hours each day. Doing that in the morning while you’re getting ready and taking those first few moments of being awake to just think rather than blind yourself with your phone screen is important. It’s that crucial me time that I think really has been affected by social media. It’s the sunny mornings, windy days on the patio, warm bubble baths, and the family dinners that benefitted most from this social media hiatus. It didn’t have to be life changing to teach me anything. It taught me to look up a little more, and I enjoyed those moments a lot. I read more, I relaxed, and I overall got a little time away from the internet machine that commands my attention too much.
Just don't go overboard like Ron.
