On January 21, I decided to delete my Instagram and Twitter account from my phone.I never thought this experience would impact me in such a positive way.
Instagram and Twitter are the most popular apps teens use today. At first, I was hesitant to delete the accounts I had created, because I felt as if I were going to be out of the loop that my friends were in.
During the first week of deleting my accounts, I regretted it. It was extremely difficult at first because I was so used to using those apps on a daily basis.Now that I didn’t have the social media on my phone, I had nothing to do in my free time. Not having the apps on my phone made me feel like I was missing out on what my friends and family were posting on their accounts.
When I felt the urge to redownload instagram and twitter, I would either get an early start on my homework, talk to my family, or play with my pets. These activities took my mind off the fact that I no longer had the advantage of scrolling through instagram or twitter.
Without going on Twitter and Instagram during the school day, I noticed that I became more productive and proactive with my schoolwork. During classes, I paid a lot more attention, so my quiz and test scores increased. When my scores began to improve, it became easier for me to let go of social media and caused me to aim for even higher grades.Letting go of my social media made me realize that without the distraction, I focused a lot more on my school work than on what I was going to post next. Not having the advantage of checking my phone when I didn’t want to work, forced me to study and be more proactive.
During homework and study hours, I finished work without being distracted from tweets and notifications. I also noticed that I had a better understanding of what I learned in class.
Deleting Instagram and Twitter also allowed me to gain more self-esteem in myself. There is always some sort of competition when it comes to social media. Staying away from the competition caused me to focus more on myself than other people. Additionally, blocking myself from being able to see the expensive clothes and gadgets my friends were getting made me more thankful for what I had. Suddenly everything I had became more useful, and I was happy to use them without being envious of everyone else.
When I did have Instagram and Twitter on my phone, all I would see was post about how we, our generation, should dress or how we should act. There would also be some unexpected post from offensive accounts on instagram that would leave me feeling horrible about myself.
Having more time to myself felt extremely freeing, and I realized I was a lot happier without seeing social media than I was with it. I gained confidence in how I looked and felt about myself.
After the two months ended, I was not that interested or excited about redownloading my Instagram and Twitter accounts. But to follow through with my plan, I downloaded them to see what I “missed out” on.
When I first logged on to Instagram, I had already gotten bored within the first ten minutes. I scrolled through my feed for awhile but was still never interested in what posts I was seeing. After looking through Instagram, I concluded that I never missed out on anything, and I wondered why I ever let this app consume my mind.
Once I had Twitter back on my phone, I noticed that I actually did miss scrolling through the app. Twitter seemed to be more light hearted, uplifting, and funnier than instagram.
In the end, it is clear to me that social media is not as important as everyone makes it. As for me, I don’t need Instagram or Twitter to make me happy anymore.
Now I finally understand why the older generation questions why us millenials are always on our phones.
