Unplugged

It’s no secret the majority of us are completely addicted to social media. It is the first thing I thought of when I woke up. It is the last thing I thought about when I went to sleep, and every spare moment in between.

Social media was consuming a lot of my time, so I made the rational decision to delete it. I will be honest though, I only deleted the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat off my phone, not forever. I am not crazy!

Now here I am reporting that after three weeks I am still alive!

Fears when Limiting Social Media Usage:

1. Destroying Friendships: I would miss out on something important.
2. Productiveness: “Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding” Sound familiar? I use to spend a lot of my time checking my phone in between tasks. For instance, when working on a project I would work, check my phone, work, check my phone, and before I knew it, I would have nothing accomplished.
3. Face to Face Communication: I would actually have to talk to people, you know, face to face. Yikes!

Reality of Limiting Social Media Usage:

1. Strengthening Friendships: Not knowing what your friends are doing every second of every day is okay. It’s amazing how much we had to talk about when we didn’t have a constant “plug” into each others lives.
2. Productiveness: I had more free time (In reality, I had the same amount of time as I did before, but I was using it differently). I used that time exercising, reading books, and dedicating myself more to my activities.  I was a lot more focused at the task at hand without a constant “Ding, Ding, Ding” in the background.
3. Face to Face Communication: That didn’t change. Everyone else still had their heads in their phones. But when I did have conversations, they were more meaningful on my end because I actually listened. I wasn't worried about what everyone else was doing via Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram.

What’s my plan now? Well, I still access social media, and I may get it back on my phone at some point in time, but as of now, I do not want to go back to my old routine. The new one is much better because I can strengthen relationships, be productive, and meaningfully communicate with others.

Savannah Keitzer

Southeast State Vice President