Exactly one week ago today I made the decision to do something that many millennials my age cannot even fathom attempting: I deleted my social media. I'm going to be honest with you, I didn't think I could do it. In the beginning, I even tried and had to restart the next day because I cracked under the pressure and re-downloaded Twitter AND Instagram all before lunch.
But I was determined to stick this one through, and I did.
Why I Did It
Some people have this issue with social media where seeing what other people are doing influences who they are as a person. That wasn't my issue. My issue was that I didn't even know how to function without it. There was this moment last week when I realized that I have never known a world without social media. So it was less of this big revelation, and more of just me wanting to test myself and see if I could do it; see if I could live a week without something that played such an integral role in my life.
How I Did It
How I executed this little experiment of mine was quite simple. I deleted the apps. I know for a fact that I could not have done it if I had kept the apps around. To be exact, I deleted Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. I kept Snapchat because... well... streaks.
How It Affected Me
Where do I even begin? Let me start by saying that I do not feel the absence of social media. I thought for sure that by the end of the week I would be DYING to re-download the apps. But somehow, I'm used to it. I'm used to waking up and not spending an hour on my phone before rolling out of bed. I'm used to sitting at brunch with friends and not mindlessly scrolling on my phone. And I'm used to having my life back. The best way to describe how being social media free felt is that it cleared my head. I felt more in touch with life. I missed social media, but then again, I didn't. I felt like I gained an extra two or three hours in my days.
Moving forward, I don't know what I'm going to do, to be honest with you. I know I'm going to wake up tomorrow and re-download my apps, but then what? I don't want to get back in the same slump I was in before but I also don't want to quit altogether. Maybe I'll find a medium. I'm thinking maybe taking one week off of social media a month. It's good for the soul. If you're like me and think you can't live without social media, believe me when I say that you can. And I highly encourage you to try experimenting with a social media break yourself.
Oh, and uh, follow me on Instagram @kaylinjo
