Social media. It keeps us connected to the rest of the world. Every platform gives us a better idea about who we are and what other people are like. We just seem to not get enough of the cliched Instagram posts of our friends in big cities, perfect Snapchat selfies, and Facebook posts bragging about our accomplishments or how much we love our best friend or significant other. This may sound narcissistic, but do you ever think it's a little much? Do you sometimes think "Everyone is addicted to social media. We basically can't live without it?"
Well...let's start on a statistic standpoint. The usage of social media has actually gone down quite a bit. According to a study from SimilarWeb, people are spending less time on social media apps. For example, Facebook usage in the United States has dropped from 48.75 minutes a day in the first quarter of 2015 to 45.48 minutes a day in the first quarter of 2016. Of the big social media apps, Instagram took the hardest hit. Usage went from 29.38 minutes a day to 19.93 minutes a day. These stats may sound like huge drops, but they still make a huge difference.
I’ll admit I can’t go one day without going through my accounts. If I don’t check my accounts, I’d feel disconnected from not only what my peers are up to, but also what the world is up to. However, I also felt social media was a bit of a distraction. There were times when I would sneak over to my phone during a class or in the middle of a commercial break as I’m huddled in the master control corner of our college’s TV station. It also kept me away from spending time with my friends and family. I felt like I was concentrating more on the cyber world than the real world.
Recently, I made a decision that I don’t regret. I took an entire week off from social media. I turned off all my notifications on my big four apps (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat) and put them away in a separate folder on my phone so I wouldn’t get tempted to look.
The final result? While it did feel like something was missing in my world, it didn’t necessarily mess up my routine. I chose the right week to not use social media, as I was visiting my grandmother and a very good friend of mine during the weekend. I also kept busy during my internship and barely looked at my phone during my shifts.
The hardest part of the social media break, though, was how to myself occupied during my two hour commutes to NYC (where my internship is). Finding WiFi spots during the train ride was bad enough, but going without social media was a challenge. I really thought I was going to crack during the week and end up going on at least one of the apps. Fortunately, I didn't. Spotify and my Kindle became my best friends during the rides to and from NYC.
On the days when I was stuck at home (which was only one day, really), I found ways to keep busy myself from using social media. I watched Netflix and Youtube videos and worked out in my basement. I mean, there isn't really a need to use social media while doing my squats and planks in general. What was I going to do? Post "I am happy to be on my treadmill right now" on Twitter? Nah.
The day my social media break ended, I finally went to check on what I missed during the week. Boy, did I miss quite a bit. I missed out on a chunk of birthdays, stories, accomplishments, and news stories that I didn't hear about through either my CNN or Associated Press apps. This was the final number of notifications I missed from Facebook (and one Snapchat notification):
All in all, my week without social media didn't really hurt me. It didn't mess up my routine or make me go insane. It just made me see the world the same as I always saw it, just without a filter or someone else's opinion.
Would I recommend a social media break to someone else? Absolutely. It should be up to you how long you want to take the break, though. You can do a week, two weeks, a month, indefinitely. Or you could quit social media entirely like this guy. It's nice to take a breather from the cyber world we're so used to. However, at the end of the day, you're going to end up sucked right back into social media land because you don't want to get left behind on what's going on. It's just how society rolls. We can't go without knowing what the rest of the world is up to. It's both a blessing and curse.
