Documenting a 6 month Social Media Break: July Edition
By Katy Zhen
One month into deleting all of my social media and I feel like almost nothing has changed. While I could attribute this to the fact that maybe social media isn’t as important as I thought it was, I don’t think I can make that claim yet. Much of my June was spent abroad, visiting family, and so I expected to feel disconnected from my life here. I was constantly busy meeting old friends and family members and I didn’t find myself with much time to think about how the lack of Instagram made that experience different. So, while right now I would say that the lack of social media hasn’t impacted me negatively, I’m curious to see if, and how, that will change as the school year starts up in August.
One of the biggest changes I’ve noticed in the past month is a shift in how I spend time by myself. Previously I would spend time scrolling on TikTok or watching videos on Youtube—both of which left me feeling unsatisfied and disappointed at the end—but after deleting social media, I was left with nothing to do. For the first few days I found myself swiping back and forth on my phone, subconsciously tapping on the places where Instagram and TikTok used to be. But as time went on, I began picking up hobbies to occupy my time. I started playing the guitar for the first time since middle school, I rediscovered my camera and began taking and editing photos, and I even started to draw (that was a big shocker). I think as we grow up in today’s digital world, we sometimes forget what it’s like to have hobbies; what it’s like to do something simply because you enjoy it. We are so engrossed by our devices that we don’t often think to do anything without them.
However, as I returned to my daily schedule back home and started meeting up with friends again, it began to become more difficult for me to avoid social media. When my friends are online next to me, I often peek over their shoulders to get a glimpse of a friend’s instagram post or a funny TikTok video. Even in those brief minutes I can feel myself settling into my old social media habits of doom scrolling. I know that if it was up to me, I could look at their screen for hours on end. This has made me realize just how addicting social media is. Even when I am thriving without it, I never lose interest in it.
While I would love to say that my screen time dropped drastically after deleting social media, that is hardly the case. With the absence of social media, I’ve begun to spend large amounts of time on other apps in order to fill the void that appeared in my life. I’ve spent copious amounts of time scrolling through years of photos and drowning myself in feelings of nostalgia. I’ve made at least 15 new Spotify playlists in the last month; each one dedicated to an oddly specific experience or emotion. I’ve also become extremely invested in creating the perfect phone lock screen with matching widgets. As a result, my daily screen time has been very up and down over the past month, ranging from less than 80 minutes to more than 250 minutes. However, as I look at my progress in terms of my average weekly screen time, I feel proud that it has consistently lowered over the 4 weeks. I hope that going forward this will continue to be the case as I build on my new habits and reflect on how social media has impacted my life over the years. I’ll check in next month with new stories and reflections!
About the author:
Katy (she/her) is a high schooler who is passionate about youth mental health. Katy believes that when used suitably, social media brings positive things to the lives of youth by providing platforms for connection. Outside of #GoodForMedia, Katy enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and reading.