Your alarm goes off in the morning, and what's the first thing you do? You check your phone to see who favorite-d your last tweet, how many likes you got on your last Instagram picture, and what you missed in the group chat; we're all guilty of it. Technology has become so invasive that it determines a lot of our actions and forces us to focus on things that we otherwise would never be worried about.
It's an epidemic that is continuing to spread, and I fear we're losing our humanity with the increased use of social media in the age of digitization. When our phones are dead, we feel lost and out of touch. We rely so much on our little handheld worlds that we forget that there's one waiting to be lived right in front of us. We're always so plugged into our technology that I fear we may miss the bigger picture that can only be found in reality.
I recently read somewhere that the average person checks their phone close to 150 times a day. Being college students, we are not just "average people" when it comes to technology use. I saw in a Facebook video that we spend close to four years of our lives staring down at our screens; that's absolutely alarming. Seeing those statistics really opened my eyes and made me think about all of the time of this precious life I've been wasting on a distraction. I know it may seem impossible, but here are some steps to clearing your mind and unplugging, because let's be real, you owe it to yourself.
Don't Like It? Don't Look at It
I think all of us have had our fair share of feelings hurt from "lurking" on social media. No need to be ashamed, we're all guilty of it. You check to see who liked this girl's picture, or you check someone's favorites, and though you're aware of the possibility of seeing something that may hurt you, you still continue to check. Inevitably, you're going to see something that you don't like or that may not sit right with you. But why?
Why are we so worried about about how other people are interacting on social media? When you really think about it, it's kind of silly. I just wonder when we as a society started to connect a guy liking a girl's picture as something more than friendly. The next time you go looking for trouble, remember the big picture; nothing will truly come from favorit-ing somebody's tweet, or liking somebody's picture, because there's nothing to it but that. Don't worry yourself over something so minuscule. You've got goals to chase, go get them. Worrying over something that doesn't even exist will only cause you unnecessary pain.
Make More Time for You
(Someone at Lamplighter dropped this note off to me and I cried a little bit)
Think about that one thing that brings you closer to yourself, whether it be reading a book, dancing, playing an instrument, being in nature, and just do it. It's important to remove yourself from your worries and responsibilities and allow yourself to reset when the world seems to overwhelm you. Next time you realize your thoughts are becoming too loud, set aside some time for yourself and get lost in what you love. Leave at least five minutes of your day free to chill out and be yourself without your phone or your laptop nagging at you. Not only will it remind you how insignificant your worries may be, it will also help you stay in touch with yourself, which is incredibly important. After all, you're the only person that'll truly always be there for you.
App Cleanse
Recently I did something huge: I deleted not only my Twitter, but my Snapchat as well. I've been talking about it for months but finally brought up the courage to say goodbye to my two favorite distractions and sources of unhappiness. I know it may seem extreme, but I honestly can't tell you how pleasantly different my life has been without the need to constantly see what other people are up to. I would always check Snapchat and feel like I was missing out on something, and although I knew looking wouldn't benefit me in any way, I would continue to do so and work myself into a bad mood.
I realized that this just wasn't healthy, and I could still live my life without an app on my phone to "connect" with other people. It's been about a month since I left Snapchat and Twitter, and now I don't check my phone half as much as I used to, and when I do, I quickly realize that I don't want to be on my phone at all. It seems absurd to me to mindlessly scroll through my feed to see what other people are doing, because the people who really matter to me will always be there. Let's be real, if you miss one party, or if you weren't invited to that birthday dinner, it's not a big deal. You owe it to yourself to stop stressing over things that you can't control. Try deleting your Twitter or Instagram for a few days and see how you do. I think you'd be amazed at how liberating it can be to live without the fear of missing out.
Be Where You Are
I can't stress how important it is to actually be wherever you are. Whether you're dying of boredom in lecture or out spending time with friends, be there fully. Put away your phone, stop checking the time, and just allow yourself to experience what you're experiencing. Mindfulness is something you can practice anywhere, and when you make it a part of your life, it can flip it upside down. If you're stuck in traffic, turn up the music and listen to it. If you're studying, focus 100% of your attention on the subject matter.
Sure, it's okay to take a break, but don't make it an hour-long, "I'll just finish it later" kind of break (I'm really guilty of this one). My parents recently came to visit me and halfway down, my dad realized he forgot his phone at the house. Usually when we're together he'll spend some time checking his emails and attending to work, but we spent the day together with no distractions and were able to truly enjoy each other's company. He said of course he felt disconnected, but it was probably one of the best things that's mistakenly happened to him in a while. Though it may seem impossible, try leaving your phone in your room next time you go out to get food or hang out with your friend. After all, you have all you need right in front of you; be there, not stuck in your head.
I feel like always having our phones on us is a burden. There's a whole world in that tiny square computer, accessible to us at the touch of a button. It's so easy to forget that there's a whole world outside of it when we get caught up in our image and what other people think of us. A lot of our self-esteem is derived from social media, and I think that's becoming a large fault in our society. It seems like relationships these days create their sense of trust with the help of social media, which is insane to me.
You shouldn't care about how many people liked your picture, because that really says nothing about the person you are. Your boyfriend liked another girl's tweet? That does not mean there's something between them. I don't know when it became taboo for guys and girls to interact in a friendly way, but I think if we all worked together to stop this collective obsession over social media, we'd be a lot happier. If you don't need to stress about it, don't. If you don't absolutely need your phone, try leaving it for thirty minutes, it won't kill you. Just take time to really live your life, instead of watching it through a screen. Do what you can to distance yourself from this stigma that our generation has created because in the end, you control your happiness. You owe it to yourself.
