At first, it may seem hypocritical that I will be posting this article on social media websites, but it’s only for the good of most people. When I went on my UDaB trip this spring break, my site leaders told us that we wouldn’t be using our phones that much and maybe only before we went to bed. They said we wouldn’t really want to, because we would be talking and getting to know everyone on the trip better. They also wanted us to really experience everything that was happening and to be mindful of the work that we were doing. For that whole week I tried to not even open a social media app and when I did, I felt guilty and immediately closed it. It was very refreshing to see everyone there was talking and valuing human conversation instead of just staring into the depths of their friend’s new Facebook post. Coming back, I tried to continue this as best as I could and I knew it wouldn’t be as successful as it was on the trip. There is a lot more downtime here then there was on the trip, but I must say that I have realized that I do not need social media as much as I thought I did. So, why does this matter?

People -- especially college students -- are on their phones a lot more than most. I know that this is a different generation and we have basically grown up with phones, and that the technology is great. I have it and I use it so I understand that argument. But, there is no one that could argue against having a one-week break from social media. It doesn’t have to be right now, but over the course of the next few months just take a week out and dedicate it to this. One thing that I really took out of this was being more mindful. Mindfulness to me means that the person is more aware of what is going on around them and are more engaged in their current situation. Current situations could be anything from sitting in class to figuring out what you want to cook for dinner. There was an awesome girl on my trip named Zoë and what she brought up was she was trying to “be fully present.” That really struck a chord with me and I now try and start my day by saying that so I already have that mindset going forward. Being fully present is understanding everything going on and being fully engaged in what you are doing and the situation you are in. How does this relate?

Taking a social media cleanse gives you time to experience different things that are going on around you. Not only will you experience more, but you can get more involved in the things that you already do. What I really want to get at is human conversation. A lot of the time now people are okay with just sitting behind a phone or a screen and talking to people. Yes, I will admit that can be more convenient and the easiest way to get an answer from someone, but certainly not the most engaging. I know that I am terrible when it comes to texting and anyone who has texted me can attest to that. So often when I am around campus, I just see people glued to their phones because they were in class for 50 minutes and have to find out what is going on. Sometimes I’ll even see people walking together that are stuck to their phones. What I think is happening is that people think that they have to check it and it may give some people a sense of anxiety when they aren’t looking at it. What it boils down to for me is this: humans are story-telling creatures and we always have been, so what’s stopping us from continuing that?

We only have one chance at this life we are given and I want people to experience everything they can while living it. Taking a one week social media cleanse can really change your view on a lot of things and help you meet and talk to more people. This cleanse and pursuit of being more mindful has helped make a difference in my life and I hope it can do the same for you, too!