16/03/2016-16/04/2016
THE RULES
1. No logging in to these social media accounts, which I currently possess: Facebook (inc. the separate Messenger service, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat.)
2. WhatsApp is an exception as it is necessary for important communication (non academic and sporting group chats will be vacated)
3. The apps will be deleted or removed from bookmarks on all owned gadgets to resist temptation.
4. No creating accounts on any other form of social media: Instagram etc.
5. No exceptions.
DAY ONE
They often say the first day is the hardest when you're trying to reach a goal. I don't agree. Today's been alright. Kept myself busy, thanks to school and a football match 30 miles away... If anything, I'm more motivated.It was hard not having anything to do on the long coach journey home but guess what I did instead? I talked to people! How many times are opportunities to talk to people wasted by the decision to check for something to retweet or comment on on the timeline? You can't deny it, it happens. And probably way too much. Looking at some people going on social media on the couch, I didn't feel envious one bit. I even got pissed off when I got shown a snap which read "new top", when all she was really trying to achieve, was to show off her cleavage... This is what I'm 'escaping' for the next 29 days and it really should do me the world of good. Don't need the vanity. Onwards and upwards I guess.
DAY TWO
Okay so I've realised that I'm never gonna escape social media completely during this month. Thanks to certain people, I'm always going to unwillingly end up on their snapchat story or in a random snap sent to someone I don't even know... Even reminded me of another thing that I found annoying about social media... The endless trolling. Leading up to starting this 'social experiment', I often wondered how I'm going to fill the time that I would often spend on social media. I asked a couple of non social media users and their answers were mixed. Procrastination, exercise, and a lot of binge watching. Now what could I do?Sleep? Maybe but probably not until the Easter holidays kick in. I've got the piano, I could always learn some songs. Suggestions are welcome. Got this site still ticking over too, so hopefully I can still intrigue you with interesting posts. Might practice some football skills, maybe I could actually become decent technically...Oh and I can't forget about revision. I really should be about 10x more productive over the next month and the best thing is... it's the perfect time to actually put some work in for exams. What could go wrong?
DAY THREE
Right, I think I can say it's going well so far. As long as I got work to do and music, this month will be a breeze. For those who haven't seen it yet, check out Problems with Preeing by Ethan Ferrao. It's a good read and it couldn't have been written at a better time, considering it has a relation to what I'm trying to achieve right now.To pass the time last night, I started to watch a few TEDx videos. I've forgotten how interesting they can be. One especially caught my eye because there's one video of what I'm doing but on a much larger scale. His period of abstinence was a whole year and it wasn't just social media he gave up... Oh no, it was the internet. Imagine a year without the internet, with the only form of communication being phone calls and actually talking to people. When you're free for 20 minutes, watch his presentation of what he learned and how he spent his self-called 'freedom'. I can honestly say it gave me a brand new focus on how I'm going to spend my time this month, to make this a much more fulfilling social experiment.
DAY SEVEN
Well the last 24 hours have been interesting. I found out last night that I got a place at UNIQ, a summer school at Oxford University... My school's 1st XI came back to win 2-1 in the District Cup final this afternoon and I now have to abstain from YouTube as it is apparently a form of social media. I'll amend the rules to cater for that. In terms of how this is going, I'm keeping myself occupied enough not to miss social media. Granted, I have very little to do on bus journeys home in the afternoon but maybe I could read a book or something. It's 10x more beneficial and productive than a scroll through my Twitter timeline. Still going strong...
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| District Cup Winners 2015/16 |
DAY TEN
I've made it to 10 days. Guess it really is a good Friday... (Excuse the pun). But this is where it gets hard. I won't have school to occupy me anymore. Instead, I have 6 hours of daily revision from Easter Monday but even then, I'm going to need a lot of self control to get past the next 18 days without being tempted to break this abstinence.
I'm surviving without Twitter and Facebook and definitely without Snapchat, but YouTube is a different story. I never realised how much I depend on that for entertainment and its apparent status as social media is still something I don't agree with, but hey, I guess it adds to the challenge. I could surround myself with even more work to give me something to do, but then I'd crash and burn for sure. All I've really got is binge-watching shows on SkyGo and BBC iPlayer and reading the couple of law books I have... And as soon as I shake off a foot injury, I can start a new fitness and football programme (for the 10th time) to make me leaner, fitter and a better footballer (if I can actually get up at 7am!). Have a good Easter!
DAY THIRTEEN
After term ended on Day 9, I spent three whole days work-free. It definitely made me realise another thing I was dependent on in terms of how I spent my time, work. That's quite depressing to think about but I guess I always need to be doing something productive. That being said, I found a very suitable replacement with mobile games. I think I've become a very successful team principal for my personal motorsport team... I was tempted to go on Twitter during the England game a couple of days ago, just to gauge reactions and to post my own views but that's just about it. I'm managing this quite well, if I say so myself.
DAY SEVENTEEN
Over halfway there and it's like social media doesn't even exist anymore now. Although I haven't been able to stick completely to my revision timetable, it's definitely kept me occupied. Well, that and BBC iPlayer, SkyGo and All4... I highly recommend "Murdered by my Father" on BBC iPlayer. It's really thought-provoking and a bit sad now I think about it.
In other news, my spirits from being unable to tackle some maths questions were lifted with news of getting into a work placement at a top law firm in London in August! I'm honestly in the best possible scenario right now concerning the two law-related opportunities I applied for in the autumn. Never thought I could get both so I'm on a roll. Learning how to play some songs as well on the piano as well as part of my revision breaks. Just need to start running as soon as my cold wears off. I think it's fair to say it's Emmanuel 3-0 Social Networks.
DAY TWENTY-NINE
Haven't done this in a while... Let's fill you in. The second half of the Easter holidays really screwed up my mind, my motivation to revise was gone by the second Thursday... Maybe it was cause of the constant, monotonous nature of my holiday or maybe it was the lack of social interaction. Feel free to figure it out. Luckily enough, that's when I signed up to the UNIQ Forum ( a summer school at Oxford which I got into to). Anyway, I got to (and still am getting to) know a few of the people I'm going to have to spend a week with in July. That's definitely something to look forward to.
If anything, I miss YouTube the most. When I talk to people about this 'break' for the first time, the first thing they say is "I couldn't do what you're doing" as well as expressing their shock when I tell them that I'm including YouTube as a no-go zone. I never realised just how important YouTube can be for some people before this.
Can't believe it's over in 2 days. In a way this month has been quick, but it's also lasted a very long time. In this very moment, it's kinda hard to say what impact it's had on my life. Guess I'll wait for me to go back to social media before making that kind of judgement.
DAY TWENTY-NINE
Haven't done this in a while... Let's fill you in. The second half of the Easter holidays really screwed up my mind, my motivation to revise was gone by the second Thursday... Maybe it was cause of the constant, monotonous nature of my holiday or maybe it was the lack of social interaction. Feel free to figure it out. Luckily enough, that's when I signed up to the UNIQ Forum ( a summer school at Oxford which I got into to). Anyway, I got to (and still am getting to) know a few of the people I'm going to have to spend a week with in July. That's definitely something to look forward to.
If anything, I miss YouTube the most. When I talk to people about this 'break' for the first time, the first thing they say is "I couldn't do what you're doing" as well as expressing their shock when I tell them that I'm including YouTube as a no-go zone. I never realised just how important YouTube can be for some people before this.
Can't believe it's over in 2 days. In a way this month has been quick, but it's also lasted a very long time. In this very moment, it's kinda hard to say what impact it's had on my life. Guess I'll wait for me to go back to social media before making that kind of judgement.
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