For Lent, I decided I was going to give up social media.
No retweeting cat videos on Twitter, no double tapping that amazing Instagram, no scrolling absentmindedly through Facebook. As a college student, I rely on social media a lot, but I didn't think giving it up would be that big of a deal. These are the five stages of giving up social media:
1. Denial
How hard could it be? It's only 40 days. That's basically a month ... and 10 days. I can do this, no problem. See, I'm already an hour in and this is going great! I haven't wanted to check my phone once.
2. Anger
This is horrible. I think this is the worst idea I have ever had. My phone is good for nothing. I have opened it in search of Facebook 12 times, only to have to close it. I might as well just throw it out. What good is a phone if it can't entertain you? How am I going to be updated on everyone's lives? Looking through pictures of cats and reject selfies in my own camera roll is so not the same as scrolling through Instagram.
3. Bargaining
Why did I choose to do this? I'm sure there's a way to get out of this. What if I give up two things next year? Then can I check twitter really quick? How about if I stay off social media for 20 days instead of 40?
4. Depression
This was definitely the worst idea I've had. There are statuses to be liked and happy birthdays to be wished. I'm missing out on everyone's lives. How am I supposed to make it through the week without videos of hedgehogs taking a bath to cheer me up? This is terrible.
5. Acceptance
You know, this actually isn't too bad. Instead of aimlessly scrolling through social media while walking to class, I can people watch. (Do you know how many people sprint to their 8 a.m. classes in their PJ's? Because I do, and it's a lot). Has anyone ever just taken a moment to look at how great the sky is? Going without social media is pretty refreshing. Instead of procrastinating and watching six "Bad Lip Readings" in a row. Having all of this extra free time is great. This was an awesome idea.
Giving up social media for 40 days was way harder than I thought it would be. But honestly, it was a really great experience. I realized that I didn't need to spend all of my free time on my phone. It also pushed me out of my comfort zone; because I wasn't able to see everyone's life through status updates, I had to individually reach out to people to see what was new in their life. It was definitely not easy, but the pay-off was worth it.
