Friday

Crosslin:

Today was my last, and easiest, day without social media. Knowing that I could get on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok tonight kept me motivated throughout the day. However, when I finally downloaded all of my social media apps back tonight, I felt like I had not missed much. It felt almost silly that I had at one point felt like I needed four apps on my phone to survive. I now feel that I do not base a majority of my happiness off of spending time aimlessly scrolling through Twitter or TikTok. It was almost overwhelming to redownload these apps and see everyone’s lives from the past week. I hope to continue minimizing my time on my phone in general, but I know it will be difficult when I am constantly surrounded by people who did not participate in this challenge. I feel like I have just came back from a church retreat. While I spent this past week learning what life is like off of social media, almost every other high schooler did the exact opposite. I may now be able to recognize the toxicity of being on such apps, but not everyone else around me can.

Eliza:

After going through the whole week, I have learned that I can and should use social media less often. My productivity this week increased and I went to bed at a more reasonable hour because I did not stay up for as long using my phone. I am definitely very excited and eager to get back on social media, but this week has been a nice refresher to remind me to not worry so much about what is constantly going on, but enjoy every moment more.

Sara:

Today was the last day of my week without social media and I’m so glad it’s over. I’m glad I tried this “challenge” but I don’t think I will do it again any time soon. I feel like I was perpetually annoyed this week and my friends agree. Like I said in the other posts, I discovered I used social media as an outlet for stress and not having that had a substantial effect on my mood and stress level this week. Even though I didn’t have any more homework than usual this week, I felt like I had so much to do and it felt like I never had a break. To help ease that feeling, I ended up spending a lot more time on YouTube and Netflix on my computer to help get my mind off of things. I’m fortunate to say that I don’t have a negative relationship with social media, however, I think to some degree, I’m a bit dependent on it for a distraction. Overall, I would encourage people who are willing to go off of social media for a few days to try it. I think for a lot of people it could be beneficial to see how your life would be affected by going without it.

Kathleen:

Today, I got back in my social media after school. I was debating not even getting back on because of how much fun I’ve had this week. Crosslin, Eliza and Sara all got back on theirs after school and were texting about it and so finally I got back on too. I was excited to respond to Instagram comments and see new TikToks, but overall I already felt less productive. I’m excited to see how next week goes!