It all started on the first morning of spring quarter. I woke up ready to start my last and hopefully best quarter of freshman year, and like usual before getting out of bed I went through my social media ritual. I checked Instagram and saw the beautiful photos of scenery, people, and with filter skills I can only dream of. I checked Twitter and between the complaints about boys, bodies, society, and politics I saw my good mood slipping away. I then checked Snapchat and saw the stories of people presumably having a much better time than myself. Lastly, I checked Facebook. It’s a good thing I’m not on Tumblr or Pinterest because then I’d always be late to class. So after going through this ritual I decided to do a different sort of spring cleaning. No, I didn’t clean my room which I’m sure my roommate would have preferred. Instead, I decided to take a social media hiatus. I deleted all the familiar icons off my phone leaving my little email and message app feeling lonely.
When I told my friends of my social media cleanse some laughed knowing how well I did with my last cleanse, one of the juice variety, and the others gave me kudos for it. The first day of no social media was marked by more free time. I never realized how much time I spent absorbed in the little world on my phone, how I used it to fill those awkward times of waiting or boredom. When waiting for my friends or killing time before class started, I used to go through my social media ritual Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, rinse and repeat just like everyone around me.
It has been two weeks since I first started, and I have learned a lot from this experiment. Because I no longer had this familiar world to turn to in awkward social situations it forced me to get out of comfort zone and talk to the kids next to me in lecture. At dinners when my friends would whip out their phones I realized just how much time we spent silently next to each other engaged in other worlds and conversations instead of being present in this world and having face to face conversation. All of these conclusions are pretty hackneyed and cliche. I mean we all know that social media comes with both positives and negatives.
The most surprising and best part of this experiment it that it helped me cure FOMO, the fear of missing out. There are some people who seem to be always suffering from a cold and runny nose, but for me I’m constantly plagued by FOMO. I’d rather drink coffee, Red Bull, and a Monster than go to bed and miss out on a fun party or a late night deep talk with friends, yet when I got off social media, especially Snapchat, something changed. It made it easier to say no to going out three nights in a row because of homework or just being plain old tired since I wouldn’t have to watch the fun I’d be missing out on the next day during my morning ritual. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has a hard time saying no, not the only one who wonders what if. These thoughts don’t disappear, but it does help.
I love social media. I love how it allows people to stay connected and have a voice. I think Facebook is great and Twitter is fantastic. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is I no longer feel the need to have them on my phone, to check it two to three times a day. If I see beautiful trees or someone in a funny outfit I can take a mental picture and enjoy the moment instead of fumbling to find my phone because "pics or it didn’t happen". I might re-download them or I might not. Regardless, I recommend everyone try a social media cleanse, for however long you want. Maybe you’ll learn something new, maybe you’ll save your parents on data charges this month. It’s a win-win situation.
