As the end of the semester quickly approaches, I begin to analyze all the useless little things I do every day that distracts me from school work to better prepare myself for when it’s time to start studying for finals. One app on my phone that often causes me to lose valuable study time is Snapchat. While I was keeping up with my friends as well as the news that has been conveniently added to the app, two hours could pass literally right before my eyes. I decided to spend one school week, or five days, without Snapchat. From Sunday to Thursday, I filled up my time with school work and catching up with friends instead of 10-second music videos and dog filters. I even went as far as deleting it off my phone so I wouldn’t be tempted. Here’s how it went:
Day 1: Sunday
It’s hard to not pause while doing homework to check the Snapchat app. While I could turn to Instagram or Twitter, snap is the app I usually turn to for some downtime while doing work. As I decide to scroll through my twitter feed, I am unamused which has now lead me to return to my homework. Ew. I spent a good amount of time on Instagram before just giving up the act of distracting myself through social media.
Day 2: Monday
I didn’t realize I was intentionally not using the app until I went to Rita’s and I couldn’t share with my friends a picture of my custard in a cone. I got an absurd number of tasks done before one in the afternoon which is usually quite unusual, not just because of Snapchat but I usually spend quite a bit of time on my phone when I get out of class. I guess deleting one app helped me save time on several others. I was very tempted to download the app but I realized if I did I’d have to come up with a different writing topic for my article this week.
There were many times throughout the night I used my iPhone’s camera to pictures of things I would normally have posted on Snapchat. It was almost odd capturing them but not sharing them with others. Before turning my phone off for the night, I decided to scroll through the images and which lead me to make the decision to buy a camera for summer break so I could improve my photography skills. Taking the pictures was as satisfying as the views for the snaps to me so maybe not having the app helped me discover a hidden talent and a new hobby. It’s also quite possible I just like taking pictures of random things. Either way, I’m excited for Friday so I can reconnect with my social media friends.
Day 3: Tuesday
I cheated by letting a friend log into my Snapchat account so she could tell me what I’ve been missing out on. I also cheated when I watched a Snapchat of my niece because well she’s my favorite person ever and I couldn’t just not watch it. Deleting Snapchat for the second time was so much easier than the first. I haven’t been mindlessly using my phone to see what other people are doing with their lives which allows me to have more time to focus on my life. Fortunately, I’m finding new ways to procrastinate. I’ve been reading online news more frequently, keeping up with my emails has become easier, and I’ve also learned to let go of old photos, contacts, and messages that were stealing storage space on my phone. Deleting the app gave me free time to clean up my phone’s storage as well as my social media accounts.
Day 4: Wednesday
Because I only have two classes today, I found myself with an abundance of free time. I’m too awake to nap but too tired to go to the gym. When I considered going to the gym, I began to think of the gym snaps my friends may have posted to inform me of who would be there around this time. Instead of going to the gym I hung out with a friend. It was difficult to not pull my phone out as they were scrolling through 10-second videos and pictures but I stuck my ground. It was strange realizing that my friends and I still feel the need to check up on our other friends’ social media while we’re with friends… I decided when I got the app back on my phone, I still didn’t want to use it when I went out with friends.
Day 5: Thursday
This morning when my alarm went off, I jumped out of bed and got ready right away. Because I haven’t been spending as much time on any of my social media, I’ve been sleeping better at night. My excitement to start my day was also influenced by the alarm I had set for midnight that was going to allow me to download Snapchat.
Half way through my day, I deleted the alarm. Realistically I didn’t want to be woken up in the middle of the night just to watch my friend’s videos. (I’m still excited to do it tomorrow though.)
I downloaded the Snapchat app after my classes were over Friday morning. The greeting from the old notifications was nice and familiar. I spent about an hour playing with the app before I went to the gym. Now that Snapchat has returned on my phone, I’m not on it nearly as much as I used to be and saving my time for more important things has been lovely.
Have you ever given up social media for a week? How’d that go for you?
