Why does social media matter? Why was it that the instant the food arrived, my first instinct was to pick up my phone and take a picture of the food and company?
I thought of these things after deleting my social media apps (except for Facebook for the events, and I'd like to see what my relatives are up to from time to time). I did so because I came to a realization that my phone became my whole world: listening to music while scrolling through social media for who knows how long. I dedicated so much time scrolling through social media that I now see why my neck/shoulder area feels weird.
This article isn't going to argue against the use of social media. I have nothing against sharing photos, go crazy actually! I think it's a great platform to share news and events, as well as put into use one's creativity.
To be quite honest, I spent too much time on Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. They took my mind off of school but in an unproductive way. The media, however, reached a different extent. There were unhealthy cultures within this space that triggered my impostor syndrome; I wasn't down for that.
Posts that made me excited that my friends were doing well academically and gaining crazy amounts of experiences had, unfortunately, affected me negatively as well.
Posts that put North Campus majors (the arts and humanities majors) under negative light angered me.
There were posts that made me feel left out.
I hated being this person, the one who gravitated towards feeling like an impostor. I hated how the posts automatically made me compare myself to others. I hated how the negativity outweighed my positivity, the energy I took care of, through one post.
Deleting the apps was truly a liberating feeling. It was a step that said I was in charge. This was the self-advocacy that I needed. This was the energy that stampeded the negativity because suddenly, there was no negativity. There was no outlet that got me to compare myself to others.
My agency had more room to want to be creative out of its own will, instead of waiting for the next opportunity to post something social-media-worthy. I took out my distractions. I made more room for books. As the consequence of erasing the social media world, the world in front of me seemed clearer.
