As teenagers, we've all been condemned by adults for being "glued" to our cell phones. In this day and age, social media is our main communication, news source, and entertainment. How can anyone blame us? In an effort to lessen the time I spend on my phone, I decided to turn off notifications for social media for a week. This included Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
I should begin by admitting that the experiment wasn't as hard as I expected. In fact, it was more inconvenient for my friends than for me. I didn't realize how rarely teenagers use iMessage until my friends started accosting me for being too hard to get a hold of. Without Snapchat notifications, I would usually go for an hour or more without checking my snaps. Typically, I'd open a snap immediately after I got the notification.
However, when the notifications are turned off, the app doesn't alert you how many snaps you have. I had to open the application and slide my finger across the screen to check who Snapchatted me (imagine that!) I realized that I would often open the app to find that I had 5-10 Snapchats, which would usually be answered as soon as I received them. This means that I checked my phone at least 5-10 times less than normal. The most difficult part of this was missing "here" Snapchats when someone was picking me up (since-apparently-no one texts or calls anymore).
Facebook and its Messenger app are becoming outdated as higher quality applications are becoming more popular. So, notifications for these applications weren't difficult for me to say goodbye to. I usually only check these apps when I'm bored. Nobody REALLY uses Facebook Messenger, so it wasn't important enough for me to worry about. Facebook itself, on the other hand, proved to be an issue when people would ask me if I saw what they tagged me in. The answer was always no because I did not bother to check Facebook daily. Also, I found it a little harder to keep up with the older people in my life. Sorry Mom and Dad, but Facebook isn't cool anymore!
Twitter and Instagram weren't a problem for me at all. They aren't time-sensitive apps, like Snapchat, where people are constantly trying to communicate. It didn't affect my day since I only missed trivial things, like who liked a post and when. I knew that I went on these apps significantly less because my usual one or two likes or follows were higher than they would be if I checked them every 20 minutes.
Usually, I open my phone every time I get a notification and then check every single social media app. Without notifications, I wasn't going on my phone as often. The only issue is that I missed a lot of group discussions and people trying to reach me through snaps or Instagram/Twitter DMs. It was also annoying having to constantly remind everyone to text me if they need me because I would sometimes go for two hours or so without checking any social media. However, the minor nuisance this caused was definitely worth spending less time on my phone and more time socializing- in person! In fact, I haven't turned any of them back on since.
