Scroll, scroll, scroll, like, like, ohhh love her outfit, comment “CUTE”, scroll, like, oh dang, she looks good… get out of app, open snapchat: swipe, tap, swipe, tap tap, ohh long story, tap, tap, tap, dang they are still dating?, close app, open text message to Leigh Ann “did u know so and so are still dating?” send… instagram, scroll,scroll,scroll
This is what we do in our free time. We are connected to our phones, to an illusion of a perfect world, and to comparing ourselves to others.
Instagram and Snapchat were deleted from my phone on January 2nd. I have re-downloaded instagram primarily for my fitness account @fit_by_embem 🙂 But I will not go back on my personal account. I always would talk about how bad social media was, but I had never truly distanced myself until the beginning of this month. The first couple of days were really hard, I wanted to download them to see if I had any notifications, if anyone tagged me in somethings, or to see what people were doing.
After a week, I stopped thinking about these social media platforms. I had three extra hours each day to focus my energy toward something productive. Why did I spend so much time searching what Khloe wore to her sisters house? Why wasn’t I worried about how my grandparents were doing? Why wasn’t I using this time wisely in a way that makes me a better person? Why did I want people to see what I was doing? It is nobodies business besides my own and who I am with.
Now, in my free time, I checked the news. I looked at online research articles. I used my time, and technology in a smarter way. I listen to podcasts, or read articles by my role models. Social media is useful for some things, but it can also take a lot of your valuable time and impact your mental health.
After almost a month without Snapchat or my personal Instagram I believe I am happier without them. My friendships are strong with my real friends. I don’t need to snap someone to stay connected with them, I will text or call them. If I want to take pictures, I do so and then save them for myself to see later! This has been an amazing challenge for myself that helped me a lot.
I challenge you to go a day without snapchat or instagram or even both! It is going to be hard but I promise you two things:
- You will still have friends
- You will still have fun! (Believe me! You can go to the beach and not snap it 😉 )
See how you feel after one day, then maybe try two days. I am not telling you to get off of these platforms forever, but do it as an experiment for yourself.
Please reach out to me if you do this. I promise it will benefit you in the long run 🙂
Let me know in the comments below your thoughts on social media!
