Documenting a Six Month Social Media Break: June Edition

By Katy Zhen

Ever since I made my first social media account in the beginning of middle school, it has been a constant influence in my life. My time on social media was unmonitored even when I was younger. I never had parent-enforced time limits on any app on my phone and my parents never monitored the apps I downloaded on my phone. So, I went into the world of the internet completely unaware of the impact it would have on me. Over the years, I’ve had almost every social media app downloaded on my phone at some point, from TikTok to Snapchat to Tumblr. During the pandemic I retreated to the digital world in an attempt to block out the harshness of reality.

I joined online communities and met people from different backgrounds without considering my own safety. I began relying on social media more and more for information, connection, and entertainment and I slowly forgot how to live my life without it.

Now, as a teen going into her third year of high school, social media has begun to play an even bigger role in my life. One by one, all of my peers joined social media apps like Instagram and Snapchat and it further ingrained in my mind the importance of having social media. It made me believe that now, more than ever, social media is how I remain connected to not only my friends, but to the world. Social media has become one of the biggest ways people make friends, keep friends, and connect with others, to the degree that some people think it is an essential component to the social development of teens. When I told my friends I was deleting social media for 6 months, the first thing they said to me was, “you’re going to feel so left out”, and I can’t really argue with them. How can I not feel left out when the lives of teens revolve so heavily around internet trends? However, I can’t help but wonder if being distanced in this way is actually bad. Is it necessary for me to know the latest trend or can I live without it? Do I need to be up to date on the lives of my old friends and acquaintances or should I spend that time building the relationships I have now? Is scrolling on social media the way I should spend my free time or can I spend that time on new hobbies? Is my attention span actually this short or is it social media that makes it so? All of these questions have led me to decide to take this break from social media so that I can truly recognize and reflect on how social media has impacted the way I act, think, and spend my time. 

As a part of the GoodForMedia team, I talk and think a lot about how social media negatively and positively affects the lives of youth. However, I feel like I cannot have a holistic view on the impacts of social media unless I know what it is like to live without it. I think understanding and experiencing this contrast will allow me to advocate more mindfully for youth in the social media space and also understand how we can better help each other disconnect and be present. 

For the next six months I will be tracking my behavior on a google spreadsheet and documenting things like my screen time, my urge to redownload Instagram, and the time I spent outdoors.

My hope is that this will allow me to notice trends in my behavior and understand the impacts social media has had and still has on my daily life.

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.