If I remember correctly, I quit social media early January of this year (2017). And by social media, I mean Instagram and Twitter, not so much Snap Chat as it was never a huge problem for me. Twitter and Instagram, on the other hand, were almost addictions. I would get out of class and as soon I sat down to “do homework” I would go on twitter and next thing I know, I’ve killed an hour and a half scrolling down my timeline.
It was a process; I would sit down and immediately go on twitter then Instagram. The thing was I never actually posted anything on Instagram, I would post something perhaps once every 3 or four weeks, I think it went up to maybe two months at one point. So I realized that social media was kind of pointless, and I didn’t really need it. The only thing social media was doing was causing me to waste time on unimportant things when I could be doing something more productive, i.e. studying (which, if you haven’t noticed, I didn’t do much of).
I started with deleting twitter, not my entire account cause I honestly have no idea how to do that so just the app. It was harder than I thought it would be. Cause now I didn’t have an excuse to not start on assignments and now I had nothing to do before bed when I couldn’t sleep. I also didn't have anything to look at when I wanted to laugh. So far it was nothing but a ton of negatives.
Following twitter, came the deleting of Instagram. That one wasn't as hard. Again, I only deleted the app. I secretly think I only deleted the apps because I knew I would eventually rejoin the social media world. There was a slight downside, now I couldn't post any special pictures I took on random LA trips with my roommates, or happy birthday posts. It sounds super dramatic but thats literally what was running through my head when I had taken a really good picture of something special and couldn't share it.
I don't regret it though. It was probably one of the best decisions I had ever made. I was off social media for an entire semester and honestly, it was the best semester ever. I actually did my homework on time, turned it in even before it was due. It was like over achiever overload.
However, I gave in too soon and rejoined sooner than I wanted. And from there, it was back to my old ways. Twitter, Instagram, then Snap Chat before class, during class, after class, and before bed. Social media is not a terrible thing, but it is distracting. If you're on the edge about quitting social media, try It for a month, see how you feel. I personally felt great and would even consider doing it again at some point.
To those who have recently quit social media: Good luck and be strong.
