A Month Without Social Media: What I Learned

Click to see some updates of how I got on!

It is done. Completed. Fertig. Finito. My month without social networks has come to an end. Those 31 days went by quickly but were so long at the same time. I knew I was going to do it, I'm not battling an addiction here but I was really hoping it wasn't going to be a complete waste of my time.

Social Media in general

You can't completely escape social media. In the first week, I still experienced some of the things I disliked about social networks.  I got shown a picture of yet another girl who use poor, poor reasons to post something sexual ( Nice new T-Shirt, but I can't see much of it since it's mostly your cleavage on the screen) as well as being put on someone else's snapchat against my will. (You know who you are...).

Productivity

Can I honestly say the hours I didn't spend scrolling through my Twitter timeline were well spent? Yes and no. Obviously I have exams coming up and I'm not a fool, I revised. And it definitely encouraged me to not get distracted so easily. 

When I asked people who hardly ever go on social media, they just gave me a simple list of things they do or have done when they couldn't get on social media: It ranged from watching TV to cleaning. (I know right?!)

But I just made a revision timetable, stuck to most of it and I went straight in. With no use of YouTube, I also spent some time on the piano, trying out different stuff, playing some songs I know (e.g. I know about 3/5 of Paradise by Coldplay). Maybe I could have read more in my free time than I did instead of watching shows on BBC iPlayer, SkyGo and All4 though. 

BUT... Boredom

There were only passing thoughts of boredom in the first two weeks of this 'break' but as soon as I hit 20 days, I was starting to feel the effects. Spending your Easter holidays with minimal contact with other people (Believe it or not, I don't use WhatsApp that often) actually took its toll. Days were getting way too repetitive and I started to miss being able to procrastinate on YouTube or see the funny/hyped up reactions to the football. Got to be honest, I underestimated how much I had started to depend on YouTube for entertainment. That element was definitely the hardest element of it.

Should You Do It Too?

Let's get this straight. Social media is just needed in a young person's life. How much of it you need to indulge yourself in though, well that's up to you. Some can handle it and some let it take over their life. I can't think of a single person who would do what I did without any incentive, especially as some people think there's no point in doing such a thing. It's just not natural anymore to not spend a certain amount of time on some sort of internet platform communicating with other people, posting about your life or just being weird to be honest.

But still if you want to challenge yourself, if you've ever wondered how much self-control and discipline you actually have, then do it. People lived without social media once, they can do it again.