Am I an Addict? (Pt. 3)

It is hard enough to stay off of social media for 50 minutes in class. 48 hours is nearly impossible. I found myself become stressed out and anxious like I was missing out on something and needed to check social media in order to stay in tune with the rest of the world. Without social media there were some perks. I was much more motivated to get my school work done, pick up my room and be productive. I went outside more for fresh air and found myself noticing things outside that I had never noticed before. The sun and how calming it could be. So many hours of the day tick by with the sun out and I hardly ever notice it. I bury my face in my phone and walk to and from class without noticing the world around me. We become so invested in social media and what everyone is doing that we completely stop seeing what is going on right in front of us.

I was able to notice that laundry needed to be done, or homework needed to be completed and I was able to do it. I became more productive because I was able to notice that things needed to be done around me. I paid closer attention to the world around me and understood that a lot of time is wasted on social media. There is so much that can be accomplished during the hour that I waste searching through pictures on Instagram.

What I missed most about the wasted time on social media was the entertainment aspect that comes from it. Although unproductive, social media still provides me with entertainment from news to videos, to pictures and memes. Rarely anymore do I put on the TV and enjoy a show. When I’m bored, I pick up my phone to rotate back and forth through all of my social media apps. Clicking away, I stop being bored and become infatuated with what my screen has to say. I didn’t miss this obsessive clicking. One thing leads to another and I have spent three hours on the same app, hitting the refresh button and waiting for something to change. I don’t need social media, but it has become a part of my daily life. The swiping and clicking has made its way into my routine and I subconsciously waste my time without even realizing it.