Since arriving at college there has been one recurring thing that I have struggled with. That thing is the constant feeling of missing out. I feel like I am missing out when I see friends doing fun things in the city, going to the newest hip coffee shop, or even just hanging out on campus. It seems like people go out every night and live these fun carefree lives while I am sitting in my dorm room alone doing homework. Since arriving at college I have also struggled to balance that fun carefree life I desire with the tons of homework I have. So for a class I am in, one assignment was to unplug from all social media for a week and then write about it.
While being off social media this past week, I have realized the source of that constantly feeds me this “missing out” feeling. It’s the instant upload of Snapchats, Instagram photos, Tweets, and Facebook posts. That feeling is amplified through social media.
Social media brings out the worst in me, but on the inside. It makes me feel insecure and is an outlet for me to constantly compare myself to others. No, you would never know this from my perfect Instagram posts and funny Snapchat stories but I am still insecure, sometimes lonely, and hurting.
This past week of being, as I call it “off the grid,” has been so much different that I could have imagined. I went into it thinking that the feeling of missing out would be so much greater because my communication with others would be limited. I was so wrong. When you are not constantly seeing what people are doing, that feeling of missing out changes. I didn’t know what anyone was doing so I just kept living my life. No, I didn’t miss out on anything. The people I love and care about still found me on campus and made plans with me, they made an effort because our relationship goes deeper than just “Facebook friends.” I also experienced more joy than ever before. There was no pressure to upload anything or edit a photo to perfection. I could just live.
So through this week of being off social media I have learned three main things.
1. I don’t have to be in everything or go everywhere. By not seeing what others were doing constantly I was able to just live my life without that feeling of missing out.
2. I spend too much of my time on social media. I can sit for an hour scrolling through Facebook just comparing my lives to others. This past week I had so much more time to read my Bible and invest in my relationship with Jesus.
3. Life is so much more than social media. I am worth so much more than my social media image and the number of so called “friends” I have. My worth can only be found in the one who created me, and that being is God.
If you have never spent a week off social media, I want to strongly encourage you to do it. See what you can learn about yourself, it may just surprise you.
