As finals have quickly approached, we all know how difficult it is to be focused. I am constantly trying to use every moment I can to study but somehow always find myself back to scrolling on my phone. I found that this constantly added to my stress because I would let 10-15 minutes pass by! I couldn’t let that happen anymore. I started to think about the additional plus sides of this, no more spoilers of the Avengers and game of thrones but getting in a good head space for finals was the motivation I needed. I have not been on social media since Sunday, April 28th and will be off of it until May 6th. Let’s see how it went….

From the Dinner Table

After deleting Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook off of my phone, it has been so nice to not be worried what I am missing on social media. In Remedies for the Distracted Mind, getting rid of accessibility is the second step. I had noticed that I was always prepared to have a conversation. In Turkle’s book, Reclaiming Conversation, she states- “conversation explores the meanings of the relationships that animate our lives. It attends to pauses, hesitations associations, the things that are said through silence” (Turkle 8). It was interesting how once I was fully engaging in conversation how whoever I was with would typically commit themselves too.

When going out to dinner with my friend, the normal phone filled silences were filled with us people watching and commenting on the pretend lives we would give them. When watching a Netflix movie, I was able to fully understand the plot and didn’t miss a beat. And thankfully, when studying for finals, I was fully committed to studying which had my friends committed as well. I had noticed once I told people I would not be looking at my social media/ taking phone breaks, they would hold me accountable for it and also be aware of themselves doing it.

I Missed You, Did You Miss Me?

Of course, being a young adult in this generation I missed social media a little. Typically, in larger groups people would constantly talk things they saw on social media, most likely because it’s the easiest way to engage a whole group. One thing I have learned for sure is that I do not need social media and I think that is very eye opening. For any major news I could have gotten from social media, I had heard about from a friend or read in pop culture section in the news. The one thing I know I’m missing out in is getting all the memes sent to me that my family and friends later joked about. According the Pew Research Center, I’m not the only one! Studies show that teens (and young adults like me) are more likely to use social media as a way to interact with family and friends. If I am to go back, it will most likely to be kept in the loop about current jokes.

Signing off for good?

Although it has only been a short week and easy to forget about social media because of how stressed I was for finals, I think I’m going to continue my social media cleanse. As I mentioned I only deleted Facebook, Instagram and Twitter which were my three go to’s when I needed a distraction or when I was bored. I would get way too much FOMO if I deleted Snapchat since I have a large family group snap. I found that the cleanse was definitely good for me. As discussed in Remedies of the mind, I did have less boredom because the silence of social media was filled with real conversations with peers, family, and friends. My anxiety was lower than normal because I knew I was not wasting time scrolling through my phone. Even if I got FOMO which is associated with anxiety from social media, it was a quick fix from someone either showing me what I’m missing and starting a conversation with me OR I reminded myself it clearly does not effect me if I see whats happening or not. I think my relationship with social media is going to decline as I get older and I’m okay with that. I would rather have more fruitful relationships with the people around me- and for that reason I am signing off!