Almost every one in the world uses at least one form of social media. It is used as a way to learn information and get in touch with others. Our society considers not having certain social media accounts as "weird". People spend hours mindlessly scrolling through different feeds and watching Snapchat stories. We feel the need to constantly check social media 24/7 because if we don't, we will have FOMO (fear of missing out). It took me a long time to realize that I was a person who was way too absorbed in social media. I started to notice that social media was a huge reason that I was unhappy, and it was an even bigger reason as to why I was not living in the moment.
I spent hours every day on social media. I would get sad seeing Snapchat stories from those who I did not talk to anymore. In addition to this, I began posting Snapchat stories for specific people to see. I spent time creeping through people's Instagrams and Twitters. I would get upset when my friend's would post pictures from an event I was not invited to. I would get upset if one of my posts did not get enough views or likes. Overall, I was sick of worrying about what everyone else was doing and decided it was time to start focusing on myself and my overall happiness.
As a result, I took action and deleted the apps Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and VSCO off of my phone. I would have deleted Facebook as well, but I am part of Facebook groups for my sports team that require me to have it in order to see important information. This just shows that people are too reliant on social media to live. There are plenty of other ways to get information out other than a Facebook page, and no one should be required to have any kind of social media if they do not want to.
Only about a week into my cleanse, I came to a lot of important realizations. Social media held me back from living in the moment. I was no longer taking pictures that I thought would get the most likes on Instagram, I was taking them for myself. I stopped putting everything I was doing on my Snapchat story and instead lived it without feeling the need to record what was going on. Additionally, I stopped tweeting about everything going on my life. I realized I did not miss or care about seeing what was going on in other people's lives on Twitter, so what in the world would make me think they care about mine?
Though I am happy with what I have learned thus far in my cleanse, it has not been easy. I've had to sit with my friends as they were scrolling through their phone instead of talking to me. It was frustrating to physically be with someone and have them care more about what other people were doing than what they were doing with me. Additionally, multiple people have asked for my Snapchat since I started my cleanse. It is definitely hard to explain why I cannot give it to them, however, I do not think that Snapchat should be a main form of communication between people. A simple phone call or text would work just fine.
People still think it is really weird that I am taking a break from social media. They think that I would be bored and out of the loop. Truth is, I am having more fun now that I am off social media, because I am not absorbed in my phone all the time. I am talking to others and making new friends. I am also more productive in my free time because I am not distracted by social media. I hear everything that is going on by word of mouth. It has been great not seeing all of the things that were making me upset initially. I have found a lot more happiness.
Do I plan to start using my social media again? Eventually, yes. As of now, I do not miss it very much and I am not in a rush to download any of the apps to my phone again. I believe everyone can benefit from a social media cleanse because it shows life from a different perspective. You will find that you are living your best life, not living everyone else's through the screen of your phone. I am thankful that I have found the happiness I was looking for through my cleanse and I hope others can take the initiative to find their happiness as well.
