Recently I watched a Ted Talks from Matt Cutts on trying
something new for just 30 days. I stumbled upon it towards the beginning of the
school year and decided to give it a go. My goal was to eliminate all social
media platforms from my life (computer AND iPhone) for 30 days.
For me that list of banned websites and apps included
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine and any other time-wasters that I saw as
distracting from my day-to-day tasks.
Now I had many motives for facing this challenge, quitting
these addictive sites cold-turkey for a whole month, when the longest I had
gone away from any of them was about two weeks or so at most. Mainly I knew
that this semester particularly was going to be quite challenging (as it has
proved itself to be), and I needed all the time I could to focus and put all my
energy into my studies, since I am first and foremost a student. But I also saw
my constant need for interaction with others via these platforms to become
quite obsessive and, dare I say, unhealthy. I began to reflect on how I, like a
lot of other people my age, in this technologically ridden society, are
incessantly checking a text message, notification, message, tweet, etc. and I
had also gotten caught up in that. I began to neglect personal interactions,
conversations in person with the much-dreaded eye contact. So I tucked away my applications in a separate folder
not to be touched, deleted the bookmarks on my web browser for my favorite sites,
and embarked on a little experiment, a social media fast.
So the month began, and it flew by. Who knew living life
without constant attention to what is being said and done around me could be so
full (said in irony)! True, I did miss easily chatting with friends here or
there, but it taught me to be much more deliberate in contacting people,
talking to them on the phone, and reaching out with genuine interest and not
casual remarks via Facebook chat.
An obvious plus was the amount of time I was not wasting
behind the computer. I had time to reflect at the end of my day, instead of
wasting it mindlessly scrolling through a newsfeed or picture roll. I wrote
more in a journal and thoughtfully considered how I was feeling some days,
addressing certain issues coming into my life, instead of pushing them out of
my mind by turning to others’ lives.
I focused much more on what I was studying on my free time.
This year so many of my classes are integrative with one another; I’m finding a
lot of common themes among my classes that are interesting to consider in daily
life as well. It’s been a month of growth, not in leaps and bounds, but small
steps that are just the beginning of a life less in tune with constant
attention and interaction with others, and more retrospective and introspective
looks at my place in the bigger picture.
On top of all that I got to experience a lot of great
things. I went to two concerts and two plays with my friends and classmates. I
survived an insanely intense few weeks (perhaps the busiest of my college
career) of papers, presentations, midterms and speeches. And looking back on my
thoughts at the time of such hectic, frenzied activities I can see how I
overcame these obstacles, and see the growth that comes out of hard times.
Another thing that I came to realize in my time away from
things like Facebook and Twitter, is that with those things in my life I
compare myself a LOT to other people. I think that is already an innate human
trait, to examine what others are doing “right” or “better” and how you can be
doing the same thing in your own life. Personally that does not produce a whole
lot of good, but it instead robs me of my individuality, my way of approaching
life, and learning experiences. So away from seeing constantly what others are
doing, seeing, thinking, experiencing, I was able to focus on how I do life.
And now that September is over, my social media fast is
officially ended. But I am definitely considering doing it again, or perhaps
utilizing that restraint in daily life by having self-control with these social
media sites.
I’ve come to appreciate so much just living life in the
moment instead of constantly thinking about how to share it with others via all
these social media platforms. I can enjoy the moment, stress less about how to
present myself to others, and ultimately save a lot of time wasted on these
unproductive sites. Granted there are some great things about them as well, heck, I’m
all for a good Instagram, and I do think these sites are great ways to stay in
contact with distant friends. However, I ultimately think ‘fasting’ from social
media has given me a better sense of self-control, boundaries and restraints in
using these sites in everyday life. So it is something to think about if you
feel like you are spending obscene amounts of time on the internet and not experiencing
life as fully as you could be. What will you try for the next 30 days?
Until next time,
Max
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