My friends often chuckle when I say I deleted my social media apps off my phone. I do it a few times a year and it usually doesn't last long because, just like them, I'm sucked into this social media trend and the fear of missing out on someone's latest post! I mean what the hell would we do if we couldn't see a post of someone's latest meal, trip to the gym, newest boyfriend/girlfriend, the latest clothes he or she bought, or vacation he or she is on?! Hell might freeze over right?....WRONG!

I give up social media every now and again, because it makes me see how often I rely on it. When I'm bored: Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, repeat. This cycle can go on for hours. Maybe check Pinterest and pin a few things then back to Snap, Facebook...ooo look an ad for American Eagle *click to the internet to shop*. It's just constant clicks and habitual behavior. When the apps aren't there and you go to click on it, and you realize it's not for the 15th time that day it's honestly sickening. It makes you think, why did I even want to check it in the first place? What was so important that I NEEDED to check instagram at 8am on my way to class, when I know it will be the same feed I saw last night before going to bed? We spend more time with our phones in our faces than having face-to-face conversations, or even just walking past someone and smiling. We are losing our genuine interactions with one another.

When I take breaks from social media it helps me get a real sense of myself and who I want to be, not based off anyone else or the latest trends. Honestly that's where the majority of our ideas come from right? We believe that following people who have our ideal bodies will inspire us to workout more and eat healthier. We get hair and clothes from the trends we see in the media and through advertisements. We get ideas for our dream vacations by seeing videos on Facebook of the most exotic places. We share these ideas with our friends and family by sharing them to our timelines.

When we hangout with friends and family, or go out to dinner it usually starts with conversation, but once there's a moment of silence alas the smartphone is there to break it! The only interaction becomes taking a picture for Snapchat or showing a Facebook video. We have lost our connection with one another. I don't want to sit at a friends house showing each other memes, I want to have a real heart to heart conversation. I don't want to rely on social media to connect with family. What happened to phone calls and sending cards with real pictures? Why do we feel the need to post everything on social media? Children's lives are posted all over the internet before they have even been outside of the womb!

Now, I am not saying I don't love pictures of babies, or that I don't follow trends. I'm all for body positivity, exploring new places, and leading a healthy life, but have you ever noticed how much of your valuable time is spent scrolling through these inspirations, ideas, and trends?

Have you ever noticed how much time you've spent creeping on people's social media accounts (come on we all do it), or how may DIY pins you have yet to tried? How long do you spend on your phone going back and forth between different accounts? How many pictures have you taken just to get the "perfect" one, or at least to the one that is the basic pose that everyone is posting on instagram? How long did it take you to choose the right filter? Why do you base your worth off how many likes you get on a picture? How much longer are you going to let social media control you?

I challenge you all to give up social media for one week and see how you feel after. Take time to actually focus on yourself, to catch up with friends, and to actually live in the moment instead of trying to capture it for social media. Talley how many times you went to click on Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, and whatever other social media accounts you might have. Journal about how you feel, and what you do with the extra time you gain from not being on your phone the majority of your day. Take the extra time to do things you kept pinning or kept sharing on your feeds. See what happens when you don't have to keep a Snap streak alive, and take a break from documenting your whole life to the world.