Students relaxing on the front lawn of the campus center. Photo courtesy of Saichand Chowdary / Mass Media Staff.
How many times do you pick up your phone in the morning before class? Even if it's just to look at it for a second. What about before bed? Do you scroll on your phone? What about when you're eating or going to the bathroom? If you answered yes to these questions, there may be a problem.
Especially in the last few years, it is quite normal for mobile phones to have problems. Most of the time, people feel connected through phone calls. Using social media in place of real interaction may be the norm, but it is not the norm. Smartphones have been around for just 30 years, and social media has been around for just 25 years. Humans existed for thousands of years before that.
A year ago, if someone asked me about my screen time, I wouldn't show it because I'd be embarrassed. It was much higher than I had hoped. Little did I know, most people my age had similar screen time. It's only in the last few months that I've tried to solve this problem.
I didn't have as much success as I expected until I realized the root of the problem was social media. I spent hours scrolling through TikTok. But it wasn't my fault. Designed to be addictive. The more people see ads on these platforms, the more money these companies make. Of course I would fall into their trap.
The week I deleted all social media apps from my phone was the week my phone problems were resolved. It took me a few days to get used to life without social media. I didn't expect to have so much free time. I thought all my time was taken up by school and work, but it turns out it was time spent on my phone.
I didn't check my phone in the morning. I just got out of bed and went on with my day. All of a sudden, my days started and ended so much longer. Every moment I used to spend checking my phone during the day was freed up. Of course I still check my texts, and my friends send me videos on social media that I want. As long as you don't have the app on your phone, you should be fine.
A big part of the decision was knowing that it's okay to feel left out of trends and jokes you don't get. Bonnie, a student from Boston, Massachusetts, also doesn't use social media. She said that when she's on her social media, she's “kind of in her own bubble.” You can see how obsessed everyone else is. They're constantly scrolling. It's all done by humans. ”
Since everyone consumes the same content on social media, similar thoughts and ideas are formed, which causes trends. Although deleting social media may seem like disconnecting you from that world, the people in your real life have so much more to offer. Hearing thoughts and ideas from people you know in real life is better than anything on the internet.
Deleting social media forces you to interact with the people around you. Rather than bonding over trends from the internet, we bond with each other on a deeper level. I don't really have a choice in this, since I don't know anything about social media trends anyway. It will be easier to make friends in real life if you stop worrying about social media trends and trying to be friends with people.
Bonnie told people who want to delete their social media that “it's worth it.” “You don't miss anything. There's more to life than what you see on the screen. I think it will be a great help with social anxiety and making friends.”
