Allow me to set the stage for this opinion of mine:
A struggling college student during the dreaded finals week of a fifth semester at Virginia Tech realizes they are doomed if they do not put in serious effort for the six finals that determine grades being solid or sad after having bitten off far more than they could chew.
I turned my phone off to get my stuff together and pass said finals, but I did not just stop there. I had one of my closest friends change my Facebook password and not permit me to have it until my pencil was thrown into my backpack and the last final submitted. Everybody at VT knows about dual authorization with logging onto Canvas and Scholar, and my roommates were my saviors in turning it back on and off to give me the access I needed without compromising my mission. I knew having the world in my hands (silly phone) would not be a good idea. How pathetic that this little brick could change the outcome of 15 weeks’ worth of work.
If you asked me earlier this year if I was addicted to my phone, I would say no. I thought a phone addiction is when you cannot put it down at all, or when you check it constantly while out with friends. I always thought a phone had no place at scheduled hang outs, church, work, a trip to the gym, or in my bed for the night-nights. Those are (and should be) times meant to be lived and treasured, but ever since I joined team smart phone, capable of internet, I am guilty of posting “the perfect” reindeer Snapchat with friends, scrolling aimlessly on Facebook, or just texting someone to avoid eye contact on a bus. It is clear to me that I am just as addicted as the next person.
What did I do when I turned off my phone you might ask?:
I colored instead of texting, and realized I forgot how nice it is to zone out on an Elmo dressed as Santa Claus, pretending the return rates of bonds are negligible. Instead of waiting for something interesting, usually shade being thrown at politicians or a dog chasing a ball, to pop up on my Facebook by scrolling mindlessly for 20 minutes, I went to YouTube and watched bachata videos, knowing they will be useful to my own passions. Even better, I took the time to remember life is not cake, and that sometimes we fail to see past ourselves and make necessary changes. It is eerie how somber buses are when you’re not paying attention to the phones so well-positioned that our faces are in our laps and the bright lights of the latest phone upgrade or Snapchat filter blocks out any potential interaction.
If I try and guesstimate how much time I invested into watching the lives of others unfold on Facebook, I know it would amount to days. Add in the times I whipped out my phone, so as not to interact with people, and the time wasted is staggering. Worse yet, how much time have I spent reading the Daily Mail and Cosmopolitan stories on how trashy and revealing the freaking Kardashians outfits were? I DO NOT EVEN LIKE THE KARDASHIANS. I have been setting my precious time on fire. On fireeee.
The average person spends 40 minutes on Facebook a day. A freaking day. That is almost an hour. Imagine spending 365 hours of your life on something you will never touch and that will inherently never benefit your happiness in any way. Now take out the five hours spent talking to actual family and the 10 hours of happy puppy videos you watch if you are feeling a bit blue. You have spent 350 hours or a little over two full weeks of your life staring at a computer screen that usually has you staring at your boyfriend's page, the girl you detested in high school, or the guy who said you were cute or nah'.
That is 350 hours you invested in something that will most likely never bring you lasting joy. Not saying that babies, wedding announcements and puppies are not a joyous thing, but the comparison it often brings is just another burden to carry. 350 hours in 2016 alone that I could have spent dancing, writing articles, eating healthier, sleeping, or going on crazy adventures with my friends and family. You and I spent two full weeks of our lives this year obsessing over someone else’s life through a screen. What do we have to show for it? Jealously and mounting To-Do lists.
So what?
Once I turned my phone on, I thought it would be easy to give it up and keep focused on better ways to spend my time. Nope, it is hard. We are all so fixated on being in the loop and hip to this new age. Today alone, I know I have hopped on and back off of Facebook at least five times. What does this say about me, an American girl living in a land of opportunity? I need to get my head out of my ass (phone/SnapChat/Facebook, all that stuff) and start living. Besides, you cannot dance salsa with a phone in your hand, or study accounting successfully by posting a story of yourself pouting to SnapChat.
I thank God I never exerted the effort to get things like Instagram and Twitter because I know the pile of fire that is my time would be twice as high. We need to start living life with our own hands, without a screen. There is so much to do that we have no right to say we are bored and hop on Facebook to kill time. Why kill time at all? Why not go spend it wisely? So many dogs to walk, blood to donate, mountains to climb in the valley, topics to study and sweaters to knit.. and we choose to see who is dating who on the internet. Let us start challenging ourselves to live our lives without studying and comparing ourselves to the lives of others.
I do not particularly care for the idea of New Year’s Resolutions, (because why should a "mistake" or derailment from a goal, mean you have to wait for a full year to pass to fix it?), but for 2017, I am logging onto Facebook once a day, ignoring the outlandish outfits of Kim Kardashian, forgetting that my phone exists unless I need it for an upcoming goal/event, and trying to remember what life feels like when I am not trying to see what everyone else’s looks like. Anyone want to go for a hike that we don't have to post about on Snapchat?
