The first week of the semester wasn’t exactly the luckiest for me. Monday night left me with a shattered, unresponsive phone. Thankfully, it was fixed good as new on Tuesday for a mere $116. However, the following Thursday night I went to bed early with a plastic cup of water next to my phone on my night stand. I heard frat boys outside my window around 2am. Confused, I reached over for my phone only to find the plastic cup had a hole in it and my phone was sitting in puddle for God knows how long. Great start to Junior year, right? I had to stay on campus all weekend and my brother took my car (that had my debit card in it) home for the weekend. So, Labor Day weekend was spent phone-less, car-less, and money-less. Come Monday, I got my car and debit card back, but would have to live without a phone for a few more days. And you know what? I survived just fine.

It’s said again and again; my generation is addicted to their phones. And after this past week without mine, I’ve never heard words more true. While I was phoneless, I observed everyone around me glued to theirs. Before, during, and after classes, phones were the hands of my peers and eyes were locked on the screens. I’m like every other millennial, I always have my iPhone with me and I’m on several different social media platforms. I think using Snapchat is hilarious and Twitter is goofy and good for a laugh. Facebook is where you post those family-safe pictures so your distant family can see what you’re up to, and who doesn’t love tons of Instagram likes? I’m guilty of being caught in the social media addiction, but I usually get bored of it. I’ll check it a few times a day when I’m bored and occasionally post something. However, when my phone broke, I didn’t really miss social media. Everyone’s just posting the same old thing. I suffered from zero FOMO all weekend because what I was missing wasn’t all over the place. And I really enjoyed it. Taking a break from the phone addiction was a breath of fresh air. I ACTUALLY enjoyed the world around me. Crazy right?!

Believe it or not, if you don’t post what you’re doing every waking minute, you will live. And so will everyone else. I realized this in the week I didn’t have my phone, but no one cares what anyone else posts on social media. Those hundreds of Snapchats of you at the bar or at the gym are quickly tapped through. That passive aggressive tweet about you being upset is probably only going to get you an unfollow. Being free from social media for a while made me really appreciate the world around me. Walks to work were filled with me observing the beautiful town of West Chester. Nights were spent with good friends and amazing music outside. I felt really refreshed and happy being phoneless, and I lived to tell the tale.

Now I wouldn’t recommend breaking your phone twice in one week to experience a social media detox, because it sucks and costs a lot of money. However, I would totally recommend a smart phone detox. It makes you appreciate things of substance, such as nature and your friends. Getting to spend time with real people is ten times better than checking Instagram for likes. It’s nice to have my phone back, but I’m definitely going to make an effort to leave my phone at home more and appreciate the real, beautiful, and 3D world around me.