Why Go On A "Social Media Fast" | The Odyssey Online
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Politics and Activism

Why Go On A "Social Media Fast"

Ileana Gates
Jan 25, 2016
Texas A&M University
21
Why Go On A "Social Media Fast"
SCM Champs

It's been 10 minutes since you posted your selfie to Instagram. The selfie that took you 25 times to get PERFECT. You won't admit it to yourself but you're kind of stressing because after 10 minutes there's still just names and not even "11 likes" next to that little heart under your perfectly posed, edited and filtered selfie.

Now let me ask you something, why do those "likes" matter? Why is social media SO important to us? Why do we spend so much time making our lives look perfect and judging other people's lives on social media? Why does Twitter, Facebook and Instagram define what our lives are like to others?

I'll be honest, when I hear "social media fast" I freak out a little bit. What would I do when I need to look busy in front of others? How will I know what's going on with the people I haven't seen in years? What if I take a picture and have NOWHERE to post it? All those excuses are legitimate not good enough, so I'm here to give you three reasons why you SHOULD take a break from social media and dare I say it...do a "social media fast."

1. How much time do you REALLY spend on social media?

Let's be honest here...how many times do you log onto Facebook, Twitter or Instagram daily? For me, I know that number is outrageous. I get on in the morning, on the bus, between classes, before I go to sleep and other random times in the day. What do we do while we're on social media a good portion of the day? We do nothing other than look at other people's lives and think of clever things to post. So what else could we be doing with that time we spend on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram...maybe that C in your class would turn to a B? Maybe you'd finally clean and organize your apartment (although, I'd probably keep putting that off.) But let's be honest here, we could probably get A LOT more done if we didn't have social media to distract us.

2. We see "likes" as approval.

How many times have you deleted a post or picture because it didn't get enough "likes or "retweets"? How many times has a guy "favorited" your tweet and your convinced he's crushing on you? We post things for other people to see, but why should it matter if 10 or 1,000 people like it?

3. Why are we so interested in other people's lives?

Yes, I get it, you want to Facebook stalk your ex or that new person you're crushing on. Hey, you may even want to see how your family and friends far from you are doing, but let's be honest...Do you really need to know that "that girl" from high school is now pregnant with her second child, or that the guy you sat next to in some class in high school is now engaged? Speaking of engagements...don't you love logging on to Facebook and seeing another five engagements? Why are we SO interested in what's going on in other people's lives that we feel the need to log on daily, if not multiple times a day to see what's going on with them?

So there's your three reasons, and now it's time to decide...are you in need of a social media fast?

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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