Until recently, I was like every millennial out there. I had Snapchat and loved it. But then, I realized something I probably should have realized a long time ago. So, I deleted my Snapchat and here’s why.
I didn’t always hate Snapchat. Back when I was a freshman in college, Snapchat was great for keeping in touch with high school friends who lived hundreds of miles from where I was and Snapchat helped ease the pain of homesickness. Once Snapchat introduced Snap stories, the reason for using the app changed for me. I stopped communicating with others because all I cared about was constantly showing others where I was and what I was doing.
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I was obsessed. Wherever I went, I would check to see if there was a geotag and post pictures of only the coolest of places I went so that others could see. I would strategically plan out my Snaps so that certain people would see what I was up to, even though I didn’t bother to tell them myself. One time, my phone was on 5% battery life and even though I needed to save that battery power to call an Uber home, I instead attempted to upload a Snapchat of me having a good time out with friends. The result? My phone died immediately and I had to walk home.
Besides being generally insufferable, I began to lose confidence in myself whenever I saw what other people were doing on Snapchat. I would watch other people’s Snap stories and instantly get a bad case of F.O.M.O. if my day didn’t match up to theirs. I was convinced if another person was having fun, that somehow meant that I wasn’t. Suddenly, nothing I did was cool enough. If I wasn’t doing something that would seem cool to others, I wouldn’t want to post about it on Snapchat. And because I wouldn’t want post about it, I would begin to question why I was even doing what I was doing. Everything I did that wasn’t cool enough to post to Snapchat became, to me, like a waste of time.
Looking back, I see how narcissistic and crazy I was. I deleted my Snapchat because I was tired of constantly having to define myself every moment of every day when I don’t even know who I am yet. Not only do I now feel less pressure to act a certain way, I’ve also realized a very valuable lesson.
And that lesson is that no one cares what you are doing. Literally, no one.
Everyone is so wrapped up with doing their own thing and wondering what other’s will think of them that they don’t really care what another person is doing because there are so self-obsessed. No one cares what you ate for dinner or what concert that you went to because it doesn’t affect what they ate for dinner or what concert they went to. Their days are not better because they saw what you are doing and your day is not better because you posted about it.
Don’t do things just because you think they will make a good Snap story. Do things because you want to feel alive and know that just being present and being there gives more satisfaction than posting about it on Snapchat.
It’s unrealistic for me to completely get ride of social media, but I’m starting by deleting Snapchat because, to me, I’m tired of constantly sharing every moment of my life and being bothered by what others are doing. I still take photos of myself, my friends, and pretty much anything that I find interesting, but it’s not for some Snap story that lasts 24 hours. I’m taking these photos and saving them so that I can one day look back on my life and remember that I did things I wanted to do and I was happy doing all of it.
Give yourself a break from trying to impress people and just do things for the simple joy of doing them. Delete your Snapchat, even if just for a day. You deserve a break.
